~ Chapter 2 ~

Ally knew herself that Trish liked to push her out of her comfort zone. Of course Ally didn't like it herself, but she knew that Trish was just trying to get her to become more comfortable around new people.

I don't want to meet new people. Ally sighed. Except for the blond man at the bar, her inner voice taunted. No...no...

Ally's eyes scanned across the words on the pages. She was trying to focus on reading her book, but she kept getting distracted, and she wasn't sure why. She chewed on the side of her thumb, it was a habit she really needed to break.

She glanced over at her bookshelf. It was packed with different genres of books, being mute gave her a lot of time to just sit down and power read. It was easy for her just to sit on the couch in a mask of silence, and read until the sun goes down, and she enjoyed it. It was one of the few things she enjoyed about being mute.

Many people had many questions about why she was mute. Was she born that way? Nope. Is it psychological? No. What are the reason for her being mute? Like hell I'm going to tell them...I couldn't, even if I wanted to.

Ally closed her book, then she tapped her chin. She didn't know why she was so distracted, she rarely got this way, stressed yes, but never distracted. She placed her book down on her coffee table, then grabbed her mug. She padded over to her kitchen, and she placed her mug down on the counter.

What do I fancy for lunch? A sandwich!

Ally opened up her cupboard, and realized she didn't have any bread left. Okay, I think I need to go grocery shopping. Ally grabbed a piece of paper, and began to write down everything she needed. She pushed it into her jeans pocket, then grabbed her handbag from her table.

She walked out of her apartment, and she went down the stairwell, towards her car. She got inside, and drove off towards the nearest grocery store. She turned on the radio, and one of her favorite songs came on. She bobbed her head to the beat of the song, and she realized she probably looked ridiculous to anyone who drove past her, but Ally had been in more worse, embarrassing situations than this.

Ten minutes later she eventually pulled up outside the grocery store. She grabbed a trolley, and walked inside. She took her list out of her pocket, and began to scan the shelves for the items she needed. The place was packed, and it made her feel uneasy.

Cramped places aren't my thing, especially, because I can't scream for help.

She was wandering down the last aisle, everything she needed was in her trolley, but her stomach began to rumble, and she figured she should pick a snack up.

Where are the granola bars?

Ally began to retrace her steps, and she went to the section, which seemed plausible to have the granola bars in, but she couldn't see any. She rubbed the back of her neck, and one of the people that worked in the grocery store gave her a funny look.

It's not like I can ask her where they are...

Ally looked over her shoulder, and she gawked when she saw the man from the bar putting stuff into a basket. She bit her bottom lip, and quickly turned away, but he had already spotted her.

He didn't make any movement to come over to her, and she felt a bit relieved. He made her really nervous, but most people did. She scanned the shelves again, then sighed.

I don't need granola bars that bad anyway.

"Do you need help?" Ally turned to see he was standing next to her. She just stared at him with wide eyes, and a skittish expression.

You were always good at first impressions, her inner voice taunted sarcastically. Well, I say first impressions, I mean second, but you weren't very good when you first met him either.

Ally opened her mouth slightly, then she chewed on the side of her thumb. He suddenly pulled out a pen from his back pocket. Ally took in the sight of him, he was wearing a pair of grey overalls that were covered in dirt and oil, and underneath was a torn black top. His hands and arms were smudged with oil and grime, and he was wearing heavy work boots. He's a mechanic.

Ally snapped out of it, and she took the pen from his hands. She began to scribble down on the piece of paper in her hand and she handed it to him.

"You can't find the granola bars?" He asked, and she shook her head. "You know they are right there," He pointed up a bit, and out of her eye line, on the very top shelf were the boxes of granola bars. She blushed in embarrassment, and she got up on her tiptoes to reach them, but she still couldn't get them. He reached up and swiped them from the top shelf, and placed them in her trolley. "Bye," With that he left.

Ally watched him go, and she began to chew on the side of her thumb again. She should have asked him what his name was.

...

Ally was sat on her couch when her mom marched into her apartment. Ally jumped out of her skin, and stared at her with wide eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Penny rushed into her bedroom, and Ally closed her book, and followed after her. "I need to ask you a favor honey. I've got this charity event at work, and I totally forgot about it. I have a plus one, so I need you to come with me."

Ally tilted her head to the side, and Penny rolled her eyes. "Please?"

Ally nodded her head, and Penny smiled. "Now, let's find you something to wear," She opened Ally's closest, then she scanned the clothes in there. "Nope, none of this will do. I guess we need to go shopping, c'mon, grab your purse."

Ally was ushered out of her bedroom, and out of her apartment within seconds. She loved her mom, but sometimes she didn't understand that Ally didn't like things like shopping, or going out to events, it wasn't her scene.

Ally got into her mom's car, and she drove off towards the city. Ally cringed as they got closer and closer. She could already see the number of people multiplying.

I'm so going to be running away from her.

They soon pulled up outside the mall, and Ally was yanked from the car. She glared at her mom, and she told her to suck it up. Ally knew that her mom was just trying to push her out of her comfort zone, hoping something will click inside of her, and she'll open her mouth and start talking, not going to happen.

They walked inside, and Penny guided her into one of the clothes shops, and Ally's eyes widened at the clothes her mom was picking out. I can't wear a dress like that. Her mom wandered off into the back of the shop, and Ally quietly began to walk backwards out of the shop. When she was at the entrance, she took off, scurrying past everyone.

She eventually ran outside, and into the fresh air. She sighed, and began to walk down the busy street. I want to go home. Ally hated being pushed out of her comfort zone, she absolutely hated it.

Ally carried on her route out of the city, and when she got there, she let out a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, someone reached for her purse. Ally already had a tight grip on it, and she pulled it towards her. The man had his hood up, and she felt something sharp press against her neck, and she was pushed into an alleyway. She immediately let go of her purse, just wanting the man to go away.

He shoved her roughly up against the wall, and she swore she heard her skull crack. The man emptied the contents of her purse, and counted the money in there. He tutted, then looked at her.

"Is that it!?" He snapped, and the knife returned to her neck, it cut into the flesh there, and her bottom lip quivered. "That's not enough!" He swung his fist towards her face, and her head whipped to the side. She reached up to cup the side of her injured face, and she stared at him with wide, watery eyes. He pressed her up against the wall, and she could feel his hot breath against her face.

Ally quickly swung her elbow against the side of his face, then pushed him backwards, and he tumbled to the concrete. Ally bundled her purse up against her chest, and she took off running out of the alleyway.

...

Austin lifted up the bonnet of the truck, and he wiped the sweat from his forehead. He was covered in thick layers of oil and sweat, which made his skin look tanned. He stared at the engine inside, and grabbed his wrench, and began to fiddle with the side of it.

"Guess who's got a date with a foxy girl tonight?" Hands clamped down on his shoulders, and he looked over at Dez.

"You?" He muttered.

"I'm telling you, she is sex on legs," He brought his fingers against his lips, then kissed them. "Perfection."

"Cool," Austin grumbled.

"She also has a hot friend-"

"Not interested," Austin glanced at him, and Dez rolled his eyes.

"C'mon, you've been here for months now, and you haven't been on a date with anyone," Dez wiped the oil from his hands with a dirty rag.

"I don't want to date anyone," He growled.

"Fine, what are you doing tonight then anyway? Let me guess trying to find your brother after he's drunk himself to sleep?"

"Yep," He murmured. "Just the fuckin' usual."

"Are you sure you don't want to-"

"I'm not going on a date!" He snapped, and Dez held his hands up in defense.

"Okay, alright. I hear you," He backed away, then walked out the back door of the garage.

Austin opened the truck door, and tried the engine, and it roared to life. He turned it off, then shut the bonnet. It shut with a bang, and someone screamed in fright. His eyes flew to the open garage doors, and he saw Ally standing across the street. Her eyes were wide, and red with tears, blood was pouring from her bottom lip, and she was clutching her purse against her chest.

What the fuck?

Her gaze snapped to the end of the street. Her body trembled, and she sprinted across the street, and scurried behind the truck he'd been working on. Austin saw a man with his hood up run down the street, and he followed him with his eyes, narrowed in a scowl.

When the man was out of sight, he shifted his gaze to Ally. She was still shaking, and her bottom lip was quivering. He crouched down in front of her, and she locked eyes with him.

"Let me have a look," He grabbed her chin and examined her lip. "Do you want me to clean it up?" She nodded her head frantically, and she got to her feet, still clutching onto her purse.

He guided her through the door at the back of the garage, which lead to a hallway, and he went through the door on the right, and into the kitchen where they ate their lunch, luckily no one was in there.

She sat down on one of the stools, and she slowly placed her purse down on the metal island. She kept her head down, but Austin watched her shoulders shake. He grabbed a cloth from the side, and he dampened it under the tap. He sat down on the stool next to hers, and she turned to look at him. He dabbed the wet cloth against her bottom lip, and she cringed.

"Did that guy try to mug you?" He asked, it wasn't hard to work out with the way she was clutching her purse. She nodded her head.

"My oh my, where have you been hiding her," Gavin somewhat glided into the kitchen, and Austin glared at him. "What's your name princess?" He leaned over the island, and beamed at her. Ally leaned back, and she looked back at Austin, blinking at him with her big eyes. Austin stood up, and dumped the cloth on the counter, then three more people entered the kitchen.

Dez. Dallas, and Elliot.

"Now who did that to your pretty little face?" Dallas asked.

"Has the big old Austin been scaring you?" Elliot asked, and Ally flew from the stool, running behind Austin, and clinging onto the back of his top.

"There ain't no need to be scared," Gavin mused, and Austin could feel her hands shaking against his back.

"Get out," He growled through gritted teeth.

"We just want to talk to her-"

"I said get out!" He yelled, and he heard her whimper.

"Alright, have it your way," Dallas muttered, and the four of them left.

Ally let go out his top, and he turned around. Her head was hanging low, staring at her turned in feet.

"I'm finishing working now, do you want me to take you back home?" She shook her head, and he sighed. "Okay," He grumbled. "Walk home," He stormed out of the kitchen, and slammed the door shut behind him. He walked over to one of the work benches, and he began to clean up his things. Dez walked out from the back, and he said goodbye to Austin, which he didn't respond to and Dez left.

The other door opened again, and Ally walked out, holding onto a piece of paper and her purse. She scuttled over, and placed the piece of paper on the bench, and he glanced down at it.

I just don't want to be an inconvenience to your day. I'm sure you've got better things to be doing, than dealing with someone like me.

"What do you mean someone like you?" He said. "You mean mute?" She nodded her head. "I haven't ever met a mute person before. I've met shy people who don't talk much, but not mute. The last thing you are is an inconvenience, I mean you don't talk, that means you won't annoy me," A smile grew on her face, and she looked up at him. "I'm leaving now, do you want me to take you?" She nodded her head.

"ALLYSON DAWSON!" Ally's eyes widened, and she jumped. Austin looked over his shoulder, and saw a woman marching out of her car, and across the street towards them. "You are twenty-five years old, not a baby. How dare you run away from me! I was worried sick!" Ally's eyes flew to Austin, then she dropped her gaze to the floor. "We have got two hours to get to that charity event, and I've got you a dress, let's go," She grabbed Ally's wrist, and began to pull her away from him. He watched Ally go, and she looked over her shoulder to smile at him, before she was ushered into the car.

AN: Hi! Thank you so so so much to everyone who reviewed, it really made me inspired to carry on! I know a lot of you are interested in what way this story can go, and so am I, because as Ally is mute, it gives me a chance to write more from Austin's perspective! This story as well, is going to focusing a lot on character development, so in these early chapters Austin may seem like a jerk, but he'll soon develop into being a nice...jerk :)

Song: Sia - I'm in Here.

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