Trish and Emma were chatting their ears off when we got back to the car. I didn't want to risk staying another minute, in case security actually remembered their jobs and decided to kick me out.

"I CAN'T believe you actually kissed him!" Trish said... again.

"I heard you loud and clear the first time."

"Yeah," Emma backed me up. "We don't need to remember again."

I glanced at her from the mirror and quietly took in her jealous rage. I almost felt bad that I did that to her but Emma needs a serious attitude adjustment. For once, she was without words and I took advantage of it.

I swept my vision back to Trish. "I would appreciate it if this didn't leak at school."

She laughed incredibly. "That's asking too much, Ally."

"What? How come?"

"You just kissed a major celebrity, where thousands of fans probably took pictures of the whole thing."

I blanched with realization. "Crap."

Trish giggled. "You certainly proved your point tonight."

"School is going to be hell on Monday."

"Geez, Ally!" She exclaimed mockingly. "Language!"

I gave her a pointed look and she held her hands up in an innocent surrender.

After I dropped her off and Emma and I came back home, Dad greeted us animatedly.

"How was the concert?"

Emma's brooding worsened, openly scowling at us then ran straight for her room. The door slamming wiped my father's ditzy smile as he looked at me perplexedly.

"We had a bet. I won, she lost. Not very happy about it," I explained.

"Oh."

I smiled sheepishly at him. "I suppose it's my fault but you know how her mood swings have been."

He looked sympathetic when he realized what was going on. "You can't really blame her for acting the way she is. Everyone deals differently."

Don't I know it, I thought bitterly.

Finally done with the night, I kissed my dad on the cheek goodnight and went to bed.

There on the bed, I saw five 20 dollar bills neatly spread out. Emma can be a total brat but at least she's accountable.

I woke up early the next morning, not having the luxury to sleep in on a Saturday like most people.

I padded toward the bathroom conveniently located in my room and got ready for work.

Donned in my colorful shorts, a plain white T-shirt and Converse, I was just about ready to leave. My dad thoughtfully made my coffee and left it on the counter. Grabbing this and my keys, I made my way out the door.

What I love about working Saturdays is waking up to a quiet house. I used to hate the silence but I've learned to cherish these moments, especially since Emma became the obnoxious teenager we all hate.

I parked at the spot where Sonic Boom employees are designated; a measly total of two spaces. I went around the mall entrance and went in through the store's back door. As I unlocked the door and switched the sign from "Closed" to "Open", I finally noticed the cell phone accessory cart.

Dallas.

Thankfully, he wasn't there yet but I knew I would have to face him eventually.

Turning around, I manned the counter and took a big sip of the piping hot coffee. Not really worried for early-bird customers, I sat down on the floor and began organizing the shelves below the counter.

The amount of papers and tiny instruments in here were astounding. This is what happens when you let a 13 year old in charge for a few hours, Dad.

I was so engrossed in cleaning that I didn't realize someone came in.

"Hey," I heard a male voice above me.

I looked up slowly and didn't realize I was holding my breath until I released a shaky one.

It was Dallas.

I felt disappoint run like a chilly shower over my body. I didn't realize I was expecting to see Austin.

Get a grip, Ally, I chided myself. "Hey, Dallas."

"So last night was great," he said rather haughtily with a self-satisfied smile.

Raising an eyebrow, I asked, "What are you talking about?"

He chuckled secretly. "You know, at the party."

I remembered when Dallas asked me out, he wanted for us to meet at a party.

"Do you mean Marconi's party?"

"Yeah. Don't pretend like you forgot about last night," he replied arrogantly.

I rose from the floor and leaned on the counter. He saw this as an invitation to try something but I stopped him immediately.

"Dallas," I started. "I was not at that party last night."

"Yeah you were," he stated. He gently placed a hand on my cheek, "How could I forget a face like yours, Ava?"

Note to self: Thank Emma for keeping you away from this creep!

I scowled darkly at him. "My name is Ally, douchebag." His hand immediately dropped.

If I wasn't so pissed, his reaction would have been comical.

"But.. we had a date!" He protested.

"I cancelled on you because my sister needed a chaperone," I reminded him. "Maybe if you hadn't had so much to drink last night, you would have remembered."

"B-but I saw you!"

"Frankly, it pisses me off that you would think I'm that easy and that you slept with someone that looked like me."

"I never thought you were easy!" He defended himself weakly.

"You are a creep," I told him. "Don't ever talk to me again."

"Oh, c'mon! You don't mean that."

I pointed to the door. "Leave."

He just stood there like a duck until I gave him another expectant look. He finally got the message and left with his tail between his legs.

When the door closed, I took another sip of my coffee. That conversation took a lot of energy and it was only nine in the morning.

"It's gonna be a long day," I muttered to myself.

After my encounter with Dallas, the rest of the weekend was uneventful. Dad did his job with maintaining Sonic Boom's record books and Emma did... whatever she usually does. As long as her mood swings weren't directed my way, we could live civilly.

School, on the other hand. That was eventful. Austin Moon's kiss with the "crazy and obsessed" fan was the topic of everyone's conversation.

"Can you believe that she did that?"

"She must be some slutty attention-whore."

"I bet she's not even that pretty. Ugly as shit."

"That kiss should have been MINE!"

That one comment created an all-out girl-fight of Austin Moon fans.

"NO! HE'S MINE!"

"Mine!" "MINE!" "MINE!"

I immediately left the area so my own skin would be salvaged.

I was opening my locker when I felt a poke on my side.

"AHH!"

"Whoa. You're jumpy today," Trish commented.

"Yeah, well, I just saw Austin Moon fan girls fight because they're mad someone else kissed 'their' man."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. Thanks for not blabbing it was me, by the way." I whispered this last part quietly, paranoid some fan will jump me if they found out.

"You have no idea how hard it is keeping this in," she whined quietly.

Trish can be the absolute worst to trust with secrets but at least she's making an effort.

"You're saving me from those crazed fans so I very much so appreciate your silence."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Anyways, how did the rest of your weekend go?" I wasn't able to hangout with her after the concert, unfortunately. I wasn't kidding about running the store.

"Ok, with the exception of the red-headed devil," Trish complained.

I rolled my eyes. She's always annoyed with Dez but it doesn't stop her from hanging out with him.

"He's always recording anything and everything," she continued. "He even recorded me sleeping then waking me up. At six o'clock in the morning!"

"Oh, I remember him telling me that." I grinned sheepishly when she glared at me. "I forgot to tell you but he did that because he wanted to prove to you that you snore."

"I do not SNORE!" She snapped.

"The video and other sleepover instances prove otherwise."

She huffed. "Whatever."

"Right," I steered the conversation back on track. "What else did you guys do?"

"Went to the mall and passed by the store a few times. You looked busy so we just played at the arcade."

"Sorry about that," I apologized. "Dad may have checked the books but we ordered a huge shipment of new instruments and equipment so I had to stay and make sure none of the shippers broke anything."

"It's okay. I got Dez to help with some errands so it's all good."

As we were walking to class, she asked me how things worked out with Dallas.

"Ugh." She widened her eyes curiously from my reaction. "Dallas is such perv. He apparently slept with some girl that looked like me and tried for an encore when he saw me the next day."

She crinkled her nose in disgust. "I told you he was bad news."

"I'm actually grateful to Emma that she dragged me away," I agreed.

"Oh, did she even pay you?" She wanted to know.

"Surprisingly, she did."

"I bet you would've kissed him for free," she winked grandly.

I blushed at that remark, remembering how great of a kiss it was. How touchingly innocent it was. I wouldn't mind a repeat.

And for a the next several weeks, it was always on my mind. As well as everyone else.

Even my father was talking about it.

During dinner, he asked, "Have you heard about all this ruckus about that Austin Moon kissing a fan?" I blushed as he brought he topic up, oblivious to my reaction. "I hear about it all over the mall, even the grocery store. Did you guys see anything while you were at his concert?"

I directed my gaze to Emma, expecting to see her livid like before. Instead, she looked annoyed that this conversation was even taking place.

I shook my head subtly, silently begging her to keep quiet of the true nature of our bet.

She held my gaze intensely and casually brushed off the subject. "It's just a bunch of talk, dad. Nothing really."

Believe it or not, Emma wasn't always so horrible. Her behavior right now reminded me of the sister I grew up with. The little girl peeking through this obnoxious teenager.

Emma was patient, kind, funny, and an overall pleasure to be around.

I missed her and for a moment, I saw her again at the table. Then she looked at the fourth empty chair, the light in her eyes darkening.

"I kinda lost my appetite, dad," she said flatly.

Everyone deals differently.

My dad noticed the change, too, so he let her leave early.

He placed his hands over his face and sighed heavily. "I don't know what to do, Ally," he confessed in a lost tone.

"She's 13, dad." I rested my hand on his back and lightly placed my head on his shoulder. "It's a difficult age already. And all of this stuff is piled on top of it. Just give her time."

He sighed again. "I'm probably gonna hit the lights early." He glanced at me from the corner of his eyes, "Do you mind working the weekend again?"

My empty social calendar reminded me of no such appointments. What else is new?

"Not at all. Goodnight, dad."

He kissed the top of my head that made me feel like I was eight years old again. "Night, sweetie."

When I was sure that my father was in his room, I glanced at the clock. 8:16 PM.

It was a quiet Friday night, everyone was in bed and I didn't feel like sleeping a wink. Physically, I was fine but I felt emotionally drained after dinner.

Not being able stand another minute in the house, I decided to walk around. Arming myself with my cell phone and a can of undistinguished mace, I left.

I thought about going to Sonic Boom to mess with the piano, but the mall itself was still open. I didn't feel like being around a mass of people. Deciding to just walk wherever my feet took me, I just looked around me.

Palm trees rustled lightly and the fresh smell of sand and ocean rushed into my airways. Miami at night was the best, I concluded. I kept walking and walking, making sure to leave some imaginary bread crumbs to find my way back. The whoosh of cars passing by lessened until I could hear it no more.

I stopped in front of a playground, with swings, slides, teeter tots, and a carrousel. It seemed like my inner child wanted to play tonight.

Excited about the abandoned lot, I quickly climbed up to the slide. I didn't want to slide though.

I just laid down on the surface, my feet barely peeking out and I just looked at the stars.

To be honest, this beat cloud watching any day.

If I had known about this place sooner, I would have brought along a pillow and a blanket. Just so I could sleep under the stars.

At that molet, I remembered seeing that look of sadness on Austin's face the last time I saw him. That look of loneliness.

The way I was able to identify it so easily was because I'm the same way. Yes, I have my family and my best friend but so much has changed.

My father tries to keep busy with the store, Emma has become more selfish, and Trish hangs out with others because I'm not always there.

Not just physically, but mentally, I'm out of it. I've become more recluse, always keeping things to myself than let others in.

I wonder what makes you lonely, Austin.

It almost felt like I was making a wish, because soon afterwards, I heard a voice.

"What are you doing here?"

I whipped my head to the left and I saw Austin Moon looking quizzically at me.

On instinct, I screamed my head off and sprayed a lethal amount of mace straight to his face.

He immediately let go of the railing and landed with a hard thud to the ground.

When I realized what I did, I said, "I'm sorry!" He replied with a small moan.

Things are never easy with this guy.