All These Cinderella Stories Chapter 2, an austin & ally fanfic

(A/N - well, I'm digging the reviews on this already. A lot of you seemed to want me to update immediately, and I had a little time, so you're welcome! :D it's short, but it's something.)

Monday Afternoon

"Trish, I'm serious," I sighed, heading back behind the counter of Sonic Boom. "I'm not going to sing, and that's final. Barbara is going to give me a ton of chores anyway, so I wouldn't have a choice."

"Ally, I know you have stage fright, but, please," Trish said, smiling at me. "At least think about it. You are the best singer around, and nobody will even know it's you."

"I'll think about it," I said, sighing in exasperation at her persistence. "Don't you have a job to get to?"

"Oh, right," Trish said, smacking her forehead with her hand. "I am actually going to try and keep this job. It's at that new clothing store, and I am going to take advantage of the employee discount as long as I can. See you later!"

She rushed out the door, and I sighed, glancing around at the nearly empty store. Technically, this is my part time job, but it feels like nothing compared to the chores Barbara leaves me each morning. In fact, it's an amazing job, because I am surrounded by musical instruments. I love music, but I can't practice it at home without one of the twins or Barbara criticizing me. So, I just write songs in my songbook, and practice them during my shifts.

Another reason that I love Sonic Boom is that it reminds me of my father. He built the store when I was five, and it's the only thing that Barbara didn't change after his death. In fact, she hasn't stepped foot in the store since he died, because she doesn't care about it. As the new owner, she only cares about the money that it brings in.

I run the store, and there is one other employee, a twenty-five year-old named Tracey. She only works the two days a week that I don't. I don't mind having the store to myself, though. Whenever the shop is empty, I practice on the piano upstairs.

I stared at the people milling around the shop, wanting them to either buy something or leave, so that I can practice a new song. After a lady bought a violin, the store was finally empty, and I headed for the stairs.

Unfortunately, halfway up, I heard the bell above the door jingle, signaling somebody coming in. I inwardly groaned, retreating down the steps to see a tall guy wearing a baseball cap and dark sunglasses. He was gazing at the guitars on the wall when he noticed me. "Ally?" the person asked.

"Uh," I stammered, unsure how he knew my name. Then, he tilted the sunglasses down a little bit, and I saw a familiar pair of brown eyes. "Austin?" I asked.

"Shh," he said, glancing around frantically. After noticing the shop was empty, he sighed in relief. "Yeah, it's me. Sorry, I'm just trying to hit the mall without anyone recognizing me." I nodded my head in understanding. "So, what are you doing here?"

"I work here," I said, shrugging my shoulders.

He smiled. "You work here? That's so cool," he said, looking around the store. "I wish I could hang around so many musical instruments all the time."

I shot him a pointed look. "You're a rockstar," I said, furrowing my eyebrows. "What else do you do?"

"Well, it's complicated," Austin sighed, taking his cap off a second to run his hands through his hair. Once he realized what he was doing, he yanked the hat back on. "Um, is there somewhere we can talk that isn't so open?"

"Sure," I said, heading towards the front of the store and locking the doors. "I'll take my break, and we can head upstairs to my practice room." I flipped the sign to 'Closed' and led him up the stairs, to my private practice room. "You should feel honored, because I never let anyone in here."

"Well, don't I feel special," he laughed, taking a seat on the couch by the window. "This is a pretty cool place. So, what instrument do you play? Or do you sing?"

"Uh, no," I lied. If I tell him that I sing, play, and write, then he's going to ask me to play something. When I say no, he'll ask why, and I'll have to tell him about my stage fright. And then, he'll ask why I have stage fright. Lying just seems easier in this case, and I don't like giving away details about my life.

He cocked an eyebrow at me. "But you work in a music store," he said, motioning around the room. "Plus, you said that this is your practice room. Why would you have that if you didn't play music?"

"This is just a part-time job I got," I said, shrugging my shoulders. Another lie. If it were any other person, I would be worried that the lying would ruin the chance of a friendship. But, this is Austin Moon, and no matter how nice he may seem, he is a celebrity. "Okay, back to what you were going to say. Something about how being a rockstar is complicated?"

"Right," Austin said, finally taking his disguise off. He ran his hands through his hair, and I could see that it was a nervous habit of his. "Okay, well, I became a celebrity for the music. But my manager quickly turned that into a ride for money. It turned out to be more of television interviews and photo-shoots than ever actually playing music. Plus, he changed my sound a bit, and made me lip-sync. I wasn't proud of it, I wasn't having fun, and that's why I came back."

"Wow," I said, soaking in all that information. "I honestly thought you came back for more publicity - you know, the celebrity-tries-to-find-roots angle? That always grabs attention. I feel bad for judging you now." He shrugged his shoulders, indicating that it was alright. "So that's not your real sound?"

"Nope," he said, sighing. "It's all edited. Here, this is what I really sound like." He walked over to the piano and began singing one of his hits, Double Take.

Flip a switch
Turn up the lightning
Get it right
Show 'em how it's done

Free it up
No matter how you dress that song
Girl you know you got a number one
Go with it

You got 'em where you want 'em
Drop the beat
They need to hear your sound
Play it up
It's coming down to you right now

They wanna know know know
Your name name name
They want the girl girl girl
With game game game
And when they look look look
Your way way way
Your gonna make make
Make 'em do a double take

I listened in awe, as he played and sang his heart out. It was the same song as the one that is played on the radio, only with more personality, and way more strength. It was still upbeat and perky, but didn't sound electronic. "That's the real me," he sighed. "But nobody wants to hear that."

"Well, I personally like that a lot better than the edited songs," I said, sincerely, making him grin. "Here I was, always wanting to make it in the music business. If that's what happens though, I think I'll just keep it to myself."

The words were out of my mouth before I even realized what I was saying. Shit, that's what I get for becoming comfortable around him. This is why I don't like talking about myself - I give things away, which leads to more questions, which leads to people knowing all my secrets. "Wait," Austin said, shaking his head. "You just said you aren't interested in music."

"Um, I'm not," I said, standing up quickly and heading for the door. "I, uh, have to go start my shift again. My break is almost over." I reached for the door, but Austin stepped in front of it, looking down at me.

"Ally," he said, confusion evident in his eyes. "What are you-"

"Look, Austin," I said, cutting him off. I don't like to interrupt people, but I don't want him finding anything out about me. "I have a really complicated life, that I would rather not share. There's a lot of things about myself that I keep secret from most people, and I would like to keep it that way."

He kept watching me, trying to pick up anything from my facial expressions. "Fine," he said finally, sighing and running his hands through his hair, again. "But I'm determined to figure you out, Ally. You know what that means? It means that you're going to be stuck with me around for a while."

I rolled my eyes, but smiled. "Okay," I said, laughing quietly. "Just don't expect me to answer any of your questions, because I probably won't. Besides, I'm not exactly an interesting person to have as a friend."

"I think I'll be the judge of that," Austin said, as we walked down the stairs to the main part of the store. "You're hiding things, Dawson, and I want to know what they are. I guess I'll just have to get to know you better." He winked before waving and heading out the doors. "See you later, Ally."

I waved and opened the shop back up, feeling an urge to write a song. I grabbed my songbook and started scribbling away, working out whatever feelings are inside of me right now. Confusion? Definitely. I don't know why this boy wants to figure me out so badly. Sadness? Sure. I just wish one of my parents was still around, to offer me some sort of advice.

But the thing I was feeling most at the moment, was happiness. I was surprised, because it's not often that I am genuinely happy - how could a person be, when they live under the roof of Barbara Sommers, and the other she-devils? But, I have a feeling that it might have something to do with my new blonde friend, the one and only Austin Moon. I still don't want him to figure me out, but I will admit that I misjudged him. Maybe not all celebrities are the same.

(A/N - well, there's chapter two! Just so there is no confusion, Austin and Ally are now friends, but Ally doesn't want to five much about herself away. Let's see how long it takes for Austin to get some information out of her! Review, please!)

1) I don't own Double Take! I'm actually not sure who does... would it be Austin and Ally? Or Disney? Or Ross Lynch? Ah, well, point is, I don't own it!