Ally Dawson sat on the floor of Cassidy's extremely pink bedroom, It had become the meeting place for what she liked to call, operation playing the player. Slowly she scanned the faces of her friends before sighing and rolling her eyes.
"You have got to be kidding me." She said for what felt like the millionth time that day before eyeing some of the titles on the books that had just been thrust into her hand. "How to get the guy is 10 easy steps? The love doctor's guide to being a guy magnet? Are you crazy?" She snapped as Cassidy piled more books onto the ever growing pile.
"Just think of it as homework. You need to read these books, it will help you to stop being so socially awkward around Austin." Cassidy said.
"You have officially ruined homework for me." Ally hissed in response.
"Ally, from what you told us of your encounter with him this morning you need all the help you can get. First you acted disinterested then you insulted him multiple times and then he tried to kiss you!" Trish said.
"I see your point." She conceded before shoving the books into her overflowing bag.
"We have decided to use a new device to help us communicate with you. It is like a miniature communication device where we can talk to each other over long distances, even if we are not there with you we can still hear what is going on and advise you." Kira said as she pulled out five of the devices and handed it out to each of them. "Hopefully it will prevent what happened this morning ever happening again."
"All you need to do is activate it whenever you encounter Austin." Cassidy added.
"We've also come up with a new plan." Trish said. "Trust me, Brooke didn't come up with this one." She reassured as Brooke slapped her arm.
"Okay, hit me with the details."
"It's really very simple. Kira is lab partners with him in Chemistry so all you need to do is swap partners and bam you get more talk time with the hottie." Cassidy said as Ally groaned.
"So what I'm hearing is I'm going to be failing Chemistry this semester too?"
"Ally come on it won't be that hard and besides Austin is smarter than he seems." Kira said.
"I'll believe it when I see it." She replied as Cassidy handed around the snack bowl.
"I still don't get why you guys didn't like my plan. It works for me all the time." Brooke said as she shovelled popcorn into her mouth.
"That's because you send out an entirely different message when you speak to guys Brooke. We want Ally to be alluring, to play hard to get not be easy." Trish said as Brooke gaped.
"I am not easy! I just believe in sharing the love."
"Bullshit!" Cassidy laughed.
"Sharing the love? More like sharing the STD's" Kira said as Brooke flicked popcorn at her head.
"I do not have an STD." She huffed. "Now are we going to watch this chick flick or not?" She asked as Ally put the DVD in the player and the group fell into a comfortable silence as the opening credits for Sorority wars rolled onto the screen.
Ally strode towards her locker the following morning only to find Austin standing there with a smirk upon his face. Quickly she spun around hoping to sprint in the other direction but a locker door that had suddenly opened behind her greeted her in the face. With a loud yelp she found herself sprawled out on the floor with Austin staring down at her.
"So you're falling head over heels for me already huh?" He said.
"As if." She scoffed before activating the communication device. Austin helped her to her feet.
"So I just came to ask you if you wanted to come to a party at my cabin this weekend?" He smiled.
"Say you'll think about it and walk to your locker." Kira's voice sounded through her ear piece.
"I'll think about it." She replied as Austin's smug smile fell.
"I'm inviting you to one of the biggest parties this year and you're going to think about it?" He asked incredulously.
"No, say you're going." Brooke's voice sounded.
"No, I'm coming." She said in a confused voice.
"So you are coming?" Austin questioned.
"No, you're not going." Trish said through the ear piece.
"Um, no I'm not coming." Ally said.
"So are you coming or not coming? I'm getting some mixed signals here Ally."
"Say you'll think about it and walk away." Kira and Cassidy both said at once.
"I'll think about it." She said before suddenly remembering she was supposed to be walking away. Jerkily she moved to turn, her shoulder bag swinging out and whacking Austin in the nuts.
"Ally, bloody hell!" He shouted as he went down to the floor in pain.
"Oh for crying out loud! Can I not have one thing go right for me today?" She whisper yelled under breath at no one in particular before turning towards him.
"We heard him scream you're name, what did you do?" Kira shouted into the communication device.
"Stop shouting you're all going to make me deaf and I may have whacked him in the man parts with my bag." She whispered into the device.
"Why on earth would you do that for!?" Brooke cried.
"Because I wanted to." She said sarcastically. "What do you think? It was an accident!" Ally snapped before bending down to help Austin.
"Guys you better sort yourselves out you're confusing us both. Am I going or not?" Ally hissed into the communication mic.
"Who are you talking to?" Austin groaned through the pain. Oh great he was definitely weirded out now.
"No one." She smiled apologetically before attempting to help him up. "I'm so, so, so, so sorry." She said. "I'm just really accident prone." She added in exasperation.
"Yeah, I noticed." He replied through clenched teeth as Ally wrapped a hand around his muscular arm and finally got him to his feet.
"Do you need me to take you to the nurse or something...?" She asked awkwardly.
"I think I'll live." He grimaced.
"Really because you don't sound so sure." Ally panicked.
"So the party?" He asked again. Gee this guy was like a dog with a bone she thought as she reluctantly released his extremely defined arm.
"Tell him you're not going." Trish all but shouted through the ear piece.
"I'm not going." She shouted loudly trying to hear her own voice over the argument that had suddenly erupted between the girls through the communication system. Several people stopped in the hallway to stare at her.
"Why are you shouting? You're the one who keeps changing your mind." Austin threw his hands up in the air in surrender, a bewildered expression on his face. "If you didn't want to go that bad you could have just-"
"I'm sorry I...I." She stuttered, sure, they all pick now to be silent when she has absolutely no idea what to say.
"Is there something you're not telling me Ally? Are you on medication or something." He asked seriously. Oh shit, now he thought she was being medicated?
"No I'm not on medication." She said biting back a laugh as she took in his wide eyed expression. Or maybe she was about to laugh hysterically because she was freaking out internally.
"Say you're acting weird because you just don't want to be around him." Trish said through the ear piece.
"Why would I say that?" She whispered into the device.
"Just say it." Trish hissed.
"Just say it." She repeated. "I mean...I just don't want to be around you." Ally said awkwardly.
"Shut up Trish!" Kira shouted in her ear.
"Shut up Trish!" Ally shouted. Oh great, just great. Quickly she shut off her communication device because clearly they were not helping.
"Did you just tell me to shut up...and call me Trish?" Austin asked, still very confused.
"Um,no..." She tried to play it off miserably. He stood gaping at her, still slightly confused. "I promise I'm not on medication." She blurted out desperately as he started to laugh.
"Okay, well how about we start this over?" He suggested with a wry grin.
"That would be great." She said with a sigh of relief.
"So I'm having a party at my family's cabin this weekend and I wanted to know If you would like to come?"
"I'll think about it. Honestly I will." She said with a smile, "I'm sorry for all the confusion." She apologised before closing her locker and walking, no, scratch that, practically running down the hallway leaving behind a very bewildered Austin. Once she was safely away from him she flicked on her communication device again.
"Guys I'm back." She said into the device.
"Finally!" Trish cried.
"Took you long enough." Cassidy huffed.
"Well I'm sorry but because of you guys I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm psychotic now!" Ally all but yelled. "I thought we were playing hard to get not crazy psycho!"
"We're sorry." Kira apologised as a loud noise that sounded like pouring water sounded through all their devices.
"Okay, what is going on?" Cassidy asked.
"Sorry guys, I forgot to turn my device off and I just went to the toilet." Brooke apologised through the system.
"We all really didn't need to hear you pee Brooke." Trish replied flatly.
"But I always need to pee before lessons." She replied in a whiney voice.
"Alright let's not argue about Brooke and her pee problems we need to figure out what our next move is." Cassidy said.
"No, no more!" Ally interjected. "You guys have already made things bad enough as it is. I'm just going to go to chemistry and act normal with him. If I need any desperate help Kira will be in the lesson with me. I'll see you in chem Kira and the rest of you guys at lunch." She said and with that she turned off her device without giving them a chance to speak. I mean seriously! What happened because of them earlier could have been her audition tape for the next big psychological thriller she thought, rolling her eyes and making her way to class.
Quietly Ally sat in her chemistry seat staring out of the window.
"You just couldn't get enough of me today could you?" Austin asked as he sat down in the seat next to her. Suppressing an eye roll she turned towards him.
"Kira wanted to swap." She said simply as the teacher walked in and the lesson began. Dr Chapman was a grumpy old man who always had some kind of sarcastic comment to make about life. Ally however still liked him as far as liking teachers went because she at least learnt something from him and his sarcastic comments kept things interesting.
Soon the time came for them to work as lab partners and now that the main teaching was over she didn't mind indulging in a little conversation with the player.
"I've put it all down to PMS you know." Austin said as Ally measured out hydrochloric acid into a conical flask.
"Excuse me." She gawked over the hiss and pop of the Bunsen burner.
"What happened earlier in the hallway, I'm putting it down to you PMSing all over the place." He said as she gaped.
"I was not PMSing! I would watch what you say around a girl armed with hydrochloric acid."
"Well I have this!" Austin said holding up his measuring cylinder as Ally stifled a laugh.
"Water?"
"Yeah, water! Wait what?" He said examining the cylinder. "This is water?"
"Yes, what did you think it was?"
"Something cooler than water." He said sadly as Ally burst out into hysterical laughter. "Hey it may just be water but I can still do this." He said dipping his fingers into the measuring cylinder and flicking some at her face.
"Austin!" She laughed. "Stop."
"I bet you wish you had the water now don't you?" He smirked, continually flicking the water as she shrieked.
"I'm sorry, is my lesson getting in the way of your fun?" Dr Chapman asked as he approached them. Instantly they stopped messing around.
"No sir." Ally whispered, she had never been in trouble before.
"Get back to work." He huffed as if the whole world was against him before turning towards another pair chatting at the back of the class. After that they both fell into an easy silence, focused on the task at hand.
"So..." Austin said breaking the silence.
"Yeah." Ally nodded as she stirred the mixture in the beaker.
"Are you free to hang out with me tomorrow night?" He asked. Cassidy's voice drifted through her head. Play hard to get.
"Um, no sorry I'm busy."
"How about the day after?"
"I'll probably be busy then too." She said simply as Austin gawked. No one had ever turned him down before except Ally.
"PMS." He sung under his breath as Ally started putting away the equipment.
"Austin! I told you I was busy I'm not PMSing."
"Sure but no girl ever turns down Austin Moon." He said as the bell signalling the end of chemistry rang.
"When are you going to learn that I'm not like other girls?" She said with a quirk of her brow as he smiled. Grabbing her bag she waved and walked out. For once the ball was in her court.
Ally walked with Cassidy and Brooke out of English at the end of the day. The strong scent of cleaning fluid infiltrating their noses as they entered the main hall.
"So it seems like you handled Chemistry well on your own." Cassidy said with a smile. "Which book helped most, how to get a guy in 10 days or Dr love's guide to being a guy magnet?" She said nudging Ally in the arm with a laugh.
"Oh ha ha." She replied sarcastically just as Trish came careening down the hallway.
"Ally you have to see this!" She shouted grabbing her arm and dragging her towards her locker. Hundreds of student were crowding around it, girls were in tears and guys were wolf whistling.
"I'm afraid to ask what is going on." Ally said as they pushed through the crowd. Pinned to her locker were a dozen roses, eleven red and one white. Butterflies instantly fluttered within her stomach. "Trish what is going on?"
"Just read the note." She said as she snatched down a small note attached to the white rose. Kira, Cassidy, Trish and Brooke all gathered around as she unfolded the small slip of paper.
In every bunch there is one that stands out and you are that one. I'm glad that you finally made me realise that. You are most definitely not like other girls Ally Dawson. ~ Austin Moon
"Oh he is on his A game!" Brooke cried as Kira squealed.
"It is typical Austin behaviour, he loves a challenge and it looks like we have successfully made you the prize." Cassidy said.
"What are we supposed to do now?" Ally gawked.
"We take things up a notch, were going to have Austin Moon begging on his knees for you." She replied as Ally grabbed the roses and pushed through the throngs of students. A claustrophobic feeling overtaking her as she battled through the girls who were glaring at her. Not one to ever be used to attention she shrunk under their scrutinising gazes. At the end of the hall leaning against the entrance doorway was Austin Moon, a rakish grin adorning his face as he watched her read the note again. The strong sweet scent of roses washing over her. If only he knew she thought to herself. If only he knew.
Thank you for reading and thank you for all the amazing reviews I got from you guys on the first chapter! They really inspired me to write so please review again and tell me what you thought of this chapter as I really hope you all enjoyed it. Thanks again guys and have a really good weekend!
