Hey guys! Thank you for the wonderful reviews on the last chapter. The response on Twitter was incredible :) Hope you guys enjoy this next instalment! All reviews are greatly appreciated as they let me know what you, the readers, want from this fic!
Also, to the anon who inquired about Auslly's relationship status, as of right now the pair are broken up, however that doesn't mean they won't get back together at some point ;) Ally is going to play an important part in Austin's story but so will various other characters. Hope that clears things up a bit without giving away too much; don't want to spoil anything!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter One
Nothing is worse than a quiet day at the mall, Austin thinks. Not only does it mean the food court is void of anyone interesting to spend his lunch breaks with but more often than not it means Moon's Mattress Kingdom is dead, leaving Austin with nothing better to do than stare hopelessly at the store entrance, silently willing the occasional passer-by into the shop. Today is a quiet day.
With little to no customers to serve, Austin has spent the better part of his day playing wastepaper basketball by himself; unsurprisingly, it's a tedious game to play alone. Granted, there are a plethora of things he could be doing, his mom had taped a to-do list to the top of the cash register to serve as a constant reminder of the work he's supposed to do this week, but he just doesn't have it in him to do any of them.
For one thing every item on his mom's list is something that either requires incredible amounts of effort or is something that he could have done in a matter of seconds, therefore after much consideration Austin had decided completing the list simply wasn't worth it. In addition to this, he's not really sure who's supposed to watch the store while he's running around doing his mom's errands, so it makes sense not to do them, right?
It's nearly closing time when the bell above the entrance sounds for only the second time that day (the first had been when Austin had opened the store early that morning). Much to his relief the intruder is neither a customer nor his mom, it's Dallas.
Like Austin, Dallas also works under the watchful gaze of his parent's, only unlike Austin, Dallas doesn't have to worry about disappointing the people he's employed by. Whilst Mike and Mimi Moon have tried desperately to turn their son into a functioning, enthusiastic member of the Moon's Mattress Kingdom workforce, Dallas' mom doesn't really care what her son does as long as it's not illegal.
Though he'd never say it to the other boy's face, Austin can't help but find his friend's behaviour more than a little frustrating on occasion. Truthfully, Austin would give anything to have the kind of set up Dallas does; his parents' pay the rent on his condo downtown and his job at the library only requires him to make sure no one steals any books or has sex in the store room (apparently that's something that happens a lot). Beyond that, Dallas is given free rein to do as he pleases on the computer all day. His life is Austin's definition of heaven.
"Hey dude," Dallas grins as he swaggers over to the counter Austin has spent the better part of eight hours sat behind. "Guess who's got two thumbs and a date next Saturday?" He doesn't wait for Austin's reply before throwing himself down on the nearest test mattress and shouting, "Me."
"You finally asked out that girl from Amazing Glaze?" Austin questions, only half paying attention as he carefully lines up his next wad of paper; he's missed the last couple of times but he's positive this one's a winner.
"Nah, apparently she's got a boyfriend or something but whatever, she wasn't my type anyway," Dallas says trying almost too hard to sound nonchalant. He's had a crush on the donut girl for weeks, possibly the longest length of time Austin has known the other boy to spend on any girl ever, so there's no way he's not at least a little bummed out about it. "No, I asked out that cute blonde that works over at the Cheesecake Warehouse, you know the one with the eyebrows?"
"Pretty much all girls have eyebrows," Austin chuckles as he flicks his wrist, sending his paper ball sailing through the air and into the wastepaper basket several feet away. He'd jeer in victory if he didn't think Dallas would mock him for it. "Wait, eyebrows… Dude! Did you ask out Mindy?!"
Dallas smiles dopily up at him as though just talking about the girl is enough to make him weak; it's not, they've been through this charade before. Austin gives the relationship three dates, maybe four, before it's over and Dallas is back to quietly pining over the donut girl.
"You know she's like six years younger than you, right?" Austin says, a grimace on his face. He's only spoken to Mindy a couple of times but she's a sweet girl, it doesn't seem fair for her to get her heart broken by Dallas' untameable nature.
Dallas shakes his head in objection. "Nah, you're thinking of Mandy the girl that works at B.F Wangs. Mandy is still in school, Mindy's her cousin and fresh out of college," The brunette smirks as though he's just let Austin in on some kind of dirty secret.
"A college graduate, huh? Wonder why she's wasting her time on you then," Austin pretends to wonder aloud as he removes himself from his position behind the counter, preparing to close up shop. He merely grins in response as Dallas pelts him with forgotten paper balls.
"I'm sorry, which one of us only just this week moved out of their parents' house? Oh yeah, that would be you," Dallas huffs once he's run out of things to aim at Austin's head. "Besides, I don't think Mindy is the type to care that I never went to college, she's cool like that."
"Sure she is, until you knock her up and can't afford to support her and your child on a security guard's salary." Austin moves slowly throughout the store, hoping to waste as much time as he can before he can clock out; he knows his mom watches his work hours like a hawk. "And hey, at least I don't rely on my parent's for everything like you do. I pay my own rent, I'll have you know."
Dallas snorts. Despite his usual unwillingness to do anything remotely related to work, today he is more than happy to help Austin shut up shop. "You wouldn't even be doing that if they hadn't kicked you out."
Dallas may have a point. At twenty four, it's become somewhat of an embarrassment to announce to his date, or on incredibly rare occasions girlfriends, that he still lives with his mom and dad, but it's the lifestyle he's grown accustomed to. That is, until recently. A little over a month ago his parents' had performed what Austin can only assume was a poorly executed intervention in which they had not so subtly informed him that they were 'concerned about his wellbeing' (translation: 'we think you're a loser') and that 'perhaps it was time for him to move out and learn to stand on his own two feet' (translation: 'we can't have sex while you're in the house and you're beginning to cramp our style, please leave').
So with the type of reluctance even the most stubborn of donkeys would find impressive, Austin had packed his entire life into a suitcase (for the second time in six years) and left behind his childhood home. His new place wasn't all bad. It was more than a little small and had a damp smell that constantly lingered in the air, but it was enough. With his parents' help he'd been able to furnish the apartment to the absolute bare minimum (he had hoped that if his mom had seen the type of squalor she was sending him off to live in then maybe she'd demand he return home immediately; she hadn't.) and make it seem almost 'homey'. The only issue he still faced was the increasingly irritating lack of wifi.
"Okay that's kind of true but -," Austin says as he flicks a switch behind the counter effectively cutting off the store's power supply. "Ah, shit!" He curses, his eyes catching sight of his mom's to-do list, her cursive words looping messily across the neon orange paper.
"What?" Dallas asks, tapping his foot impatiently over by the door. With little to do but watch Austin lock up, the brunette has quickly grown impatient, not that Austin blames him, it's Friday after all.
"My mom left me a list of things I was supposed to do," He waves the paper in Dallas' direction before hastily glancing down at the painfully long list of things he was supposed to do today. His parents are away for the weekend, maybe for a wedding but probably for a mattress lover's convention, he's got plenty of time to get the jobs done, so with that in mind he slips the paper into his pocket and rushes through the rest of his closing duties. "I'll just come in tomorrow and do them, no big deal."
Dallas roars with laughter at that, his entire body shaking with delight. "No way, whatever hopes you had of coming in tomorrow you better forget them now, the only thing you're gonna be doing tomorrow is sleeping off the hangover from hell! It's Friday night, man. You're coming out whether you like it or not. I'll drag you to the bar by your hair if I have to."
The man has a point, and his dad had just lectured him about growing up and acting his age (granted speech had come during the midst of an argument regarding Austin's notable collection of stuffed animals). "You don't have to drag me anywhere," Austin laughs, ignoring the images of his angry parents flashing in his head. "I'm in."
Vodka is not his friend, it never has been his friend, and yet Austin continues to drink it like its water. In hindsight, going out with Dallas had been a terrible idea and Austin's swears he's never going to do it again, and when he informs his friend of this as they struggle up the several flights of stairs leading to Austin's apartment, Dallas merely laughs like the bastard he is, patting him on the back and pushing him forward.
"You're a terrible friend," Austin groans. His head is swimming and he's pretty sure he's got someone else's vomit on his shoes. "Why do you make me do this?"
"I didn't make you do anything," Dallas argues, pulling Austin along a hallway which he can only assume leads to his home. "You're the idiot that challenged Kira to a drinking competition."
Austin groans at the memory. "Damn her Irish roots. Who fucking knew?"
"Everyone except you apparently. Have you got your key?" Dallas asks though he doesn't wait around for Austin's reply, immediately stuffing his hands into the blonde boy's jeans. His keys snag on a violently orange scrap of paper which Dallas disregards, jamming it into Austin's hands before turning his attention back to the door.
Once the two men are inside, Dallas doesn't hang around, only staying long enough to use Austin's bathroom and call a goodbye over his shoulder before heading back out again, no doubt to continue his night of drinking and partying. With Dallas gone Austin sinks into his couch, relishing in the silence that surrounds him. When he'd first moved in he'd assumed the feeling that had settled in his chest had been a result of missing his parents, the loneliness that had come with living truly alone for the first time in his life. Now as he sits unaccompanied on the couch he wonders if he's been lonely all along and that his parents' constant presence had just been masking that fact. He hates his drunk, deep self.
With bleary eyes, Austin looks around his tiny home, the living room and kitchen both rolled into one and two ancient wooden doors to his left concealing his even tinier room and bathroom. His eyes roam the almost barren room, most of his possessions still in boxes beside his bed, until they finally stop, landing on the crumpled paper clutched in his hand.
It's his mom's list, he reads it over again, slower than before because his alcohol addled brain is having a hard time keeping up. Altogether the tasks seem pretty simple and he's not sure why he didn't do them before; clean backroom, check stock, replace last month's promotional posters… IMPORTANT – DO NOT IGNORE AUSTIN! AUTHORISE AND ACCEPT STOCK RENEWAL FROM BLARMY – EMAIL EXPECTED FRIDAY AFTERNOON, REPLY WITH DRAFT EMAIL IN DRAFTS.
Fuck.
Austin's stomach drops to his feet and he can feel the bile rising in his throat, and unfortunately it has nothing to do with the amount of alcohol he's spent the night consuming. Rushing to his feet Austin frantically begins searching for his laptop. Maybe if he can send the email now he won't have screwed up whatever partnership deal his parents have set up with the Blarmy Company.
It's only as his PearBook comes to life, the light from the monitor illuminating his face and most of the room, does Austin remember the predicament he's in regarding his new apartment and the internet, or rather, lack of. Another frenzied search leads Austin to his phone, he knows he's got some data stored up maybe he can – it's dead. He pays thirty-five bucks a month for his phone and for what? For it to die when he absolutely needs it most.
It's nearly three o'clock in the morning and Austin is pulling out his hair, whatever pleasant buzz the alcohol had left running through his veins is long gone and he's about ready to curl up into a ball and die. Before he has chance to do this however, his laptop chimes informing him of its failure to connect to an available internet source before opening a window displaying a list of potential networks in the building.
Though he already knows the answer Austin chances a look anyway. There are no available networks in the building, or rather, there is one but it's password protected and shining up at him like a beacon in the darkness that is his life; YELL PENIS FOR PASSWORD.
Though massively inappropriate (and totally hilarious) the aforementioned network is the strongest in the building according to his laptop, its signal reaching all three access bars. There's every chance that the only thing screaming penis is going to do is piss off the other tenants in his building, but Austin figures he'd rather face some grouchy neighbours tomorrow morning than his disappointed and supremely angry parents Monday.
With one final refresh of the page, confirming that there is only one available network, Austin opens his mouth and yells as loudly as his voice will allow. "PENIS."
