Holding Pt 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Disney owns Austin and Ally, not me. This is fiction.

He hung up. I peeled back my hair from my sweaty, sticky face. I shuddered and looked up at the same time a figure in yellow sweatpants came outside with a black hoodie on. His blonde hair stood out against the dark night, glinting against the moonlight.

Then I really started panicking. I was half naked, crying my eyes out, and terrified. I was a true, utter mess while he came out here looking freshly showered. My breathing increased.

He knocked on my window.

I really couldn't breath. I unlocked the door in a last ditch effort to save my life as the panting increased. "Ally! Ally, look at me," he said. His brown eyes met my jittery ones. Suddenly, two warm arms were wrapping around me. I gasped. "Breathe with me, Ally."

He took a deep breath and held it, and I did the same. "In through your nose, out through your mouth." He took a deep breath again through his nose and released it through his mouth. I did it as well, though it wasn't perfect. I caved a couple of times, but he talked me through it. In through my nose, out through my mouth. By the time we were done, I was sobbing in his arms.

"You're okay, Ally," Austin whispered. His hands rubbed at my back in a soothing rhythm. "You're okay."

To this day I still, I don't remember how I got inside his house. I suppose I must ask sooner or later. It hasn't come up much; that whole night hasn't. We try to avoid it often, despite it being the blossom of what's – well, I'll just finish my story.

My blubbering and crying trickled to an end around the same time I noticed where I was. Austin and I were sitting on a couch, me in his lap and he a worried mess. I sniffed and remembered Elliot's body against me, touching and searching and shoving, and I shuddered. Austin's body was a hard reminder of it, but I made no move to get away from him. I'd already been ruined, what was one more person?

I didn't think I'd ever felt so dirty. I was disgusted, rubbing off dirt on my arms, scratching at my neck until it was red. I just couldn't shake the idea of Elliot's hands roaming on my body. That boy was from hell and he'd just rubbed hell's shit on my body.

"Wh-where are your parents?" I said, furiously combing through my hair. It smelled of him. Oh no, my stomach felt like it'd hurl soon. I had to get it off me.

"California," he said, not asking more questions. He must have caught on that something was amiss, something I simply couldn't out and explain in one second. I stared at him quizzically, in the back of my mind wondering why. "Somebody claimed their goose feather pillow was better than hen feather pillow. They are checking it out."

I let out a snort and felt the snot just ooze out of my nose. I gasped and covered it up. Austin chuckled softly, in a soft, non-teasing way. He handed me some tissues. I looked around numbly, still feeling gross with myself.

"C-can I, uh, use your shower, maybe?" I asked, barely meeting his eyes. Austin frowned with confusion evident in his expression, but I crossed my fingers and prayed he didn't ask. If he asked, I could have easily broken down into tears again.

"Uh – yeah, sure, whatever you want." Austin said. He and I could both feel the weirdness of this whole thing. It was only then that I realized he was probably still wondering what the hell I was going near his house in the first place.

I looked at him, eyes wide and mouth open and ready to speak. His brown eyes stared into mine with a look of calmness and concern. I forgot what I was going to say for a second. "Car!" I sputtered. "My car broke down. I just – I'll explain later I really – just need – to…shower." I closed the door to his bathroom after the last word and breathed a huge sigh of relief. Austin was handsome as hell with his rock star getup and beach blonde waves of hair and deep pools of chocolate for eyes that seemed to see my every move and didn't even have the nerve to judge me! For anything!

Where was I? Right, he made me nervous yet relaxed at the same time. It gave me a headache just looking at him. Shaking my head and clenching my eyes shut, I tore off my clothes, which really wasn't much.

A body appeared in the mirror, but it wasn't mine. Mine wouldn't have had the red lines and splotches where Elliot's hands roamed. Mine wouldn't have had the distinct odor that Elliot wore. Mine wouldn't have been touched or tainted by any man. Mine would have been pure, pristine, and porcelain. This body had itchy, red hives over her neck and arms. This body had scratched marks and nail indentions from her own hands nervously trying to distract herself of the pain that surrounded her. This body was touched and not at all virgin, yet technically still.

"You are strong, Ally Dawson. You are moving past this. You. Are. Strong."

And yet I could hardly look at my body as I showered.

When I got out, I scrubbed my body dry and scrubbed even more. It hadn't helped nearly as much as I'd hoped it would have. Sighing, I was surprised to hear a knock on the door. Wrapping the towel around my body tightly, I answered. "Yes?"

"Ally?" Austin's voice came. My hand stayed tight on the towel. "It's me, Austin."

"So I gathered," I said. He laughed at himself softly and a smile threatened my lips.

"Right. I got you an old sweatshirt of mine, and sweatpants…though they won't fit well. I just thought you could use some new clothes," he said, voice sounding oddly nervous. This time, I did smile. I never expected him to be so nice about me just invading his home. Well, I never expected to invade his home; it just happened.

Keeping my hand tightly on the towel, I peaked my head out the door and came almost nose-to-nose to Austin. We both jumped in surprise. "Thank you, Austin. I'll be right out." He handed over the clothes almost absentmindedly. I took them gratefully, but neither of us closed the door. Feeling a cramp coming to my clenched hand, I laughed softly and shut it.

With his height and strong build, this t-shirt was a dress on me. It reached my knees, maybe even a little bit past it. I really didn't want to be suffocated in his never ending pants so I left them folded on the toilet.

When I emerged from the bathroom, Austin was nowhere to be found in his slightly spacious yet cozy house. I found him tinkering in the garage, rummaging through large metal tools. "Austin?"

He had a smudge of black grease on his forehead and all over his hands, and he was blushing. As he walked towards me, I felt the weight of the world lessening. He was dirtier than I was, no contest. I literally could not argue that I felt dirtier than he was.

"So Mr. Mechanic Austin checked out your car…" he drawled out the sentence and I waited, crossing my arms to prepare for the prognosis as if this was my life. Well, Elliot endangered both my life and my car's. "Let me just say that your engine is spot on," he laughed.

"You spent your time fooling with my engine?" I gasped, covering my mouth as I giggled profusely. "I'm sorry. I should have told you my tire pressure was low – gone, really."

He scratched at the back of his neck, abashed. "I was getting to that," again came his cute, adorable little chuckle. He sounded such like a child. "Somehow your back right tire had four huge slashes in it and a few smaller ones. Now would you like to tell me what happened?"

I froze. Why was I surprised? Of course he'd be curious. Worried I wasn't expecting, but curiousness I was. After all, I did invade his home. I rubbed at my arms and averted my gaze, debating how I could even manage to breech this topic without crying.

"Let's go to your car," Austin said as he hoisted a huge metal contraption. How was he able to move it let alone carry it? He set it on the ground and rolled it along, bringing a tool chest as well. "We can talk and work at the same time."

"That's why – I don't know how," I admitted as I followed him to the bottom of the hill. My car was still parked across from his driveway, half off the road to clear the road.

"Leave that part to me," Austin said, sending me a smile. I wrung my hands, still debating.

In the end, after I helped move my car into the flat part of his driveway just before the hill really began, I sat by the toolbox and passed Austin the closest tool I could find with his description. "So, what brings you to my house?"

He was currently pumping this bar up and down. He'd called it a carjack. Every time at the end of a 'rep' he'd let out a shallow, gruff burst of air. Despite my afternoon, this hard work on his end only made me like him more. I wasn't afraid of his masculinity. I wasn't afraid that because he was so strong and – strong! – he could easily overpower me, ten times thicker than Elliot had been. If that had been Austin, I never would have gotten away. However, Austin hadn't even glanced at my exposed legs once. He definitely didn't give me a once over when he found me in my bra. Elliot would have jumped me then and there, I was now certain of it. I was wary of Austin because I never would have guessed Elliot would have been the guy to do that to a girl, but I'd known Austin my whole life. He was a good kid with a good family. He'd never been aggressive off the field once. He never disrespected girls – not jokingly or directly. He wasn't a player. He was Austin. I just knew.

"Well, I was just roaming the neighborhood…" I tried to lighten the mood because there was no way I could begin with the mood already depressed. Austin paused mid pump and gave me a look.

"Get on with it!" His face radiated. I sighed, caught and looked directly at him.

I kept my eyes trained just below his, on his biceps as they worked furiously on the carjack. "I'm sure you heard about Elliot and I," I gulped as I forced his name out aloud. Bile rose in my throat. Austin looked from me to the car back to me, nodding. I cleared my throat. "I should have expected it, really," I shrugged. Now Austin grew confused. "Oh, I went to Elliot's house on his second chance – though I could argue it was his third. He, uh," I halted. How was I supposed to phrase this? He didn't rape me, but it wasn't mere sexual harassment. "Elliot and I were on the couch and…"

Austin stopped completely at this. His hands seemed to grip the bar tighter. I kept my eyes trained on his biceps, if only for familiarity. It hurt, feeling Austin's sound, moral eyes looking me over. I didn't deserve him. I didn't deserve somebody so good and clean. He was wasting his time. "We started kissing. And then his hands were – and I wasn't…" I choked on my words then. My eyes went up to Austin's and cringed at the look of pity on his face. I didn't want to be pitied! I didn't know what I wanted, but I didn't want to be treated like an injured child! "Um, yeah, you get what I mean. But I fought him off. He didn't get that far-,"

"That far? Ally! You showed up in only underwear and a tank top with no bra!" Austin jumped to his feet. I backed up a step, eyeing him. His face grew pink with anger as his body seemed to huff and groan along with his breath. "What type of man does that? Why – Ally, say the word, please say anything and I'll beat the living hell out of him."

He was serious, I realized with a start. My eyebrows shot to my hairline. I looked Austin over. He was lean, but not skinny. He was muscular, but not a body builder. But that wasn't what convinced me that he truly would and, more importantly, could beat the shit out of Elliot. It was the flames roaring in his eyes. His once brown eyes seemed nearly black, the pupils dilating and expanding with his rage. His clenched hands seemed to be struggling to stop themselves from hitting something – or someone.

My mouth fell open. Why would he do that? He barely knew me and he was willing to take on a scrawny boy, but a scrawny boy with money, which mean lawyers. He had a determination in his eyes that honestly scared me a bit. It scared me to think that I'd almost have little problem with Elliot disappearing from, at the least, my life, but I could never actually have him killed.

Never say never, young, shell-shocked Ally, because at the moment I could do just fine with seeing his face turn blue under my hand. Just wait and see how many struggles it causes in your future life. Rape or anything close to it isn't a tragic, horrifying event; it defines you. For the rest of your life, every move you take will be because of that one night, that one guy.

"Austin?" I whispered after an hour of staring at him in thought. "That's the nicest thing anyone had offered to do for me." I said the realization with almost a sad tone. Was he just an extra nice guy or was the world truly fucked up? Austin stopped his pacing and looked right into my eyes, studying me. I forced my gaze to his despite how silent the night air kept growing.

"Do – do you want me to call somebody? Your mom-?" Austin ran his hand through his already disheveled hair. I watched as his nervous habits came to play. He licked those plump lips of his and looked back at me.

"She's in Africa," I sighed. He opened his mouth, but I beat him to it. "Dad is on a business trip. Tris is…probably asleep." Austin frowned, stepping closer to me. I instinctively took one step back against my car, my breathing hitching momentarily. Austin noticed and stepped back again. "Um," I said, blinking away the tears that seemed to pile up the more I spoke. My throat hurt from keeping back the floodgates. I took a deep breath. "If you could just get my car fixed or give me a ride…"

Austin frowned and snorted. "I respect your wishes, Ally, but I'd be sick with myself if I let you go home after going through…all of that," he shook his head. "Don't freak out, but if you could trust me, I'd feel more comfortable if you stayed in my house."

Immediately, my head began to spin. My breaths came in fast bursts as I looked to my sides, searching automatically for an escape route. But then I remembered this was Austin, who wanted to kill the boy who touched me in the first place. I looked back at him and he was standing there, hands in the air in surrender. He didn't look ready to pounce; in fact, he looked quite the opposite. He was slowly backing away and wiping his hands on his pants.

"I'll take that as a no," Austin spoke, slower than normal. I nodded my head, blushing with embarrassment. Yet I couldn't bring myself to regret doing those things. Looking for an escape and getting ready to run was what had saved me before when I was caught off guard. I didn't think I'd ever be caught off guard again, and that could possibly save me from any more assaults.

"I just really want to crawl in my bed and cry right now," I admitted, hoping he'd get my message. I didn't mention that his mere presence had my muscles tense. My eyes would follow his every move, even the smallest of them. I couldn't fathom being in the same house as any man tonight. By now, I wanted to be utterly and completely alone. I wanted to cry, to forget about it all.

Austin nodded, seeming to get the picture. "I think I'll need more light to fix this," he shrugged, pointing to my tire. I blinked and looked at him. "I can give you a ride home and pick you up sometime tomorrow."

My shoulders relaxed slightly at that. "That's probably best," I agreed, lips turning up in a beginning of a smile. Austin and I walked slowly up to his garage. I hugged my chest with my arms as he put away the carjack. "Could you, uh, not tell anyone about this yet?"

Austin spun around immediately. "Of course," he said, but it sounded like he wanted to say more. I waited while he hesitated. His eyes searched anywhere but me to look at as he deliberated until finally, "-Ally…it's just that I think you should talk to, well, somebody about it. He can't just get away with it!"

I shuddered. No, he certainly shouldn't have gotten away with anything, but Elliot did. "He didn't actually rape me, that alone means much less of a punishment. I can't imagine if I tried to prosecute him and – he has enough money to do almost anything to almost anyone. Besides, there's no evidence."

Austin looked pained, but his mind was whirling. He was so easy to read, especially compared to the elusive Elliot. Throughout the duration of our friendship, I'd had to simply ask him how he was because he constantly hid his emotions. Austin was the opposite. It made things so simple. "I mean it, Austin, if you try to do anything to him…"

"You can't say you'll hate me for that," he pointed out. I crossed my arms.

"No, but I'll always think low of you. Elliot is stronger than me and used that to his advantage. Wouldn't that be the same thing as you beating him up?" I gestured to his bulging muscles. He and I stared each other down as we climbed in the car. Austin seemed to think for a while on this subject. I realized with a start that he seemed to know exactly where my house was.

"I won't touch him until you say so," he huffed. "But Ally, you have to promise me you won't keep this hidden inside of your pretty little head." I put on a surprised expression. What me, hide something, from anyone? Never! "Talk to me, or Trish, or your dad, or somebody. Just…talk."

I thought about my options. I could lie, but I knew he was right. If this stayed purely in my head, I'd go mad. There are too many memories to process through, too many angry thoughts not to share. I sighed. My mom was in Africa, but she'd find her ways to spread it to my dad. I'd then die of embarrassment. Trish wouldn't hesitate on beating Elliot up. Scratch that; she'd get the entire football team to do it for her. However, I wasn't opposed to all forms of revenge. I'd tell enough to get her annoyed so she could find me a good plan of vengeance.

Honestly, I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell anyone else about this. I was surprised Austin knew what to do. He was understanding and didn't treat me like I was broken, no matter how much I felt like it.

"Okay," I sighed.

A/N: I am so sorry I didn't update sooner! I love all the reviews and follows and favorites! I promise to update as soon as I get 5 reviews, even if it is later tonight! FIVE