Author's note: here is the next chapter! I had a day off from exams and I was able to write a ton:) From the feedback so far, this apparently isn't the worst thing I've ever written, so that's awesome. If there's anything that you don't like, though, please review and let me know so that I can improve:)
A week had passed since Austin and Ally went shopping for their Secret Santa presents, and they arrived at school in the morning, surprised to see all of the Christmas decorations, which had been put up overnight.
"Ally! Austin!" Coach Simmons called, getting their attention. "If you have your Secret Santa presents, just put them in the corner of the gym. There are already a few presents there, so you'll see it."
They nodded asked they walked together towards the gym, smiling at all of the Christmas decorations that they saw along the way.
"Hey!" someone called loudly, and they both jumped and stopped walking. "You two are under the mistletoe!"
They both looked up and Ally blushed.
"I don't know... I mean, I don't think..." Austin stuttered, recognizing the awkwardness of the situation.
They had dated briefly, and it had failed, but now they were just back to being friends in a gray area. It was more than a little confusing.
"Come on!" Dez called. "You know the rules of mistletoe!"
"Dez, really?" Austin exclaimed. "Come on, you know we're just friends! It would be awkward-"
He was cut off when Ally stood on her tiptoes and kissed him quickly on the lips before running off. A reverberating "ooh" could be heard through the hall as he blushed and ran off after her. She ran far enough when she abruptly cut down a corner and smiled as she watched him speed past her, heading towards the gym.
She looked up and caught her breath, until she realized that she was in a hallway full of freshmen.
"Ally Dawson? What are you doing here?" one of them asked, confused.
"Yeah, you're a junior! Shouldn't you be getting ready for your first period class?" another asked.
She nodded. "Yeah. I have chemistry."
She smiled weakly as she remembered that Austin was not in her advanced chemistry class. He was in her second period Spanish class, but she would worry about that when the time came. Better to avoid the awkwardness for now.
"Sorry for interrupting, guys." she said to the freshmen, "See you all later!"
They all confusedly waved goodbye as they watched her walk away to the chemistry lab, passing her classmates on the way there. They were still buzzing about the kiss. Stuff like that didn't happen every day. She saw Sun Hee enter the lab, and quickly followed after her. At least a dozen students not in her chemistry class followed.
"Hey, Ally, so you and Austin are together again?"
"What was up with that kiss?"
"Austin loves you!"
She blushed at all the comments, especially the last one. She knew that it wasn't true. Heck, he didn't even like her as anything more than a friend. Sun Hee only looked mildly annoyed at the sudden intrusion of the normally quiet lab.
"Kids, to your first period classes!" Mr. Conley called from outside.
They all left slowly, but not without a few more "oohs" and teasing. Ally only sighed. It was going to be a long day.
Ally, of course, was the first student to get to her second period class, Spanish.
"Hola, Señora Gomez," she greeted her favorite Spanish teacher.
"¡Hola, Ally!" she replied. "Cómo estás?"
She opened her mouth to reply, but was suddenly cut off by the sound of many loud boys entering the classroom. She rolled her eyes. Boys. She gulped when she saw Austin enter the room, smiling and oblivious to everything.
"Hi, Señora Gomez! Sorry if I'm late-"
"Señor Moon, en español, por favor." she replied.
"Huh? What? I don't know Spanish! Ally, what does that mean?" he said, genuinely confused.
Teacher and student alike sighed in unison. Some of the other students just laughed. Austin shrugged and took a seat right next to his best friend. He obviously wasn't the target of the teasing. She sighed. It was already a long day.
Señora Gomez began to speak, starting the lesson, when the door crashed open and Trish slowly and loudly entered the classroom, speaking in fluent Spanish to no one in particular. Normally, teachers would love a student who could speak the language so well, but Señora Gomez just sighed and glared angrily at her. Trish really was a terrible student, behaviorally speaking, and it slowed the whole class. Somehow, though, she always got top marks. It frustrated all of the Spanish teachers to no end.
Ally went straight to Sonic Boom after school. It had been a brutal day, mentally and physically. Every time she was within thirty feet of Austin, she endured relentless teasing. Everyone was convinced that they liked each other, and she couldn't convince them otherwise. Physically, well, she had gym class last period and Coach Simmons wasn't exactly known for being easygoing.
"How was school today, honey?" her dad asked.
"Well, dad, actually-"
"Great! You always love school." he replied, not bothering to hear her answer. "Well, take good care of the store. I'm going to the food court! It's free samples hour!"
She sighed. Sometimes it felt like no one cared about her anymore. She knew that her dad loved her, but he always assumed that she was doing fine. He wasn't someone that she could reach out to. She was avoiding Austin for the time being, so a no on that, too. And Trish and Dez were just teasing them more than ever. She felt alone.
"Hey, Ally!" Trish called walking loudly into the store and up to the counter. "So... tell me everything about you and Austin!"
"It was just a kiss!" she sighed. "Why is everyone making such a big deal out of it?"
"Because you two totally like each other!" she replied excitedly. "Didn't you tell me that yourself when Austin was about to leave for his national tour?"
"Trish, come on, that was half a year ago! I don't feel that way anymore!" she said defensively.
"How do I know that?" she countered. "As far as I'm concerned, your chemistry has only gotten more intense. The tension between you two is so thick, you couldn't even cut it with a knife!"
"Trish, that's not the saying-" she sighed, "you know what, that's okay. You say what you want to say."
"All I'm saying is, Ally, maybe you should stop shutting out your feelings and start thinking about how you really feel." she suggested, serious for once. "It'll be the best for both of you. Look at you right now! You won't even talk to Austin. Admit it, you've been avoiding him all day because you're afraid that you'll fall for him if you get any closer."
"Okay, I've been avoiding him, but that's not why!" she said. "It's just so that people will stop teasing me!"
"But they'll tease you anyway, Ally." she replied. "Think about it, would you really care so much about the teasing if you really didn't have feelings for him?"
"No, I'm just afraid that... I'm afraid that..." she stammered, trying to find the right words.
"You're afraid that you'll get your heart broken, and you're afraid that you won't be able to go back to being friends this time." Trish stated, reading her mind perfectly.
Ally slumped down against the counter and sighed. "Is that such a bad thing?"
"No, it's not a bad thing!" Trish replied, pulling her up to stand straight again. "Ally, I know he likes you, too. But both of you are too scared to admit it."
"No," she said abruptly, eyes widening.
"What?"
"No," she repeated, quieter this time. "I can't do this."
She turned around and ran up the stairs to the practice room, shutting herself inside. Trish frowned. What was that all about? She turned around to see Austin and Dez walking in, Dez carrying a sprig of mistletoe.
"Look, Dez, we're just friends!" the blond exclaimed. "Her day's been awful, with everyone teasing her. Just give her a break! I'm not doing this for me, I'm doing it for her! Think about Ally!"
"You care so much about her, just admit that you like her already!" he argued.
"No! We're just friends, and I care about her! I don't want her to suffer, and that's what you're doing. You're making her suffer!"
"But she likes you!" he objected. "And you like her! You two are just too scared to admit it!"
"Okay, fine!" Austin cried, exasperated. "Sure, maybe I like her a little. It's clear as day, of course you guys caught on to that. But she only sees me as a friend, and our friendship is what matters to me the most. Dez, don't you dare tease her. Tease me as much as you want, but not in front of her. She's really upset, you know."
Dez was too moved by his true concern for Ally to even tease him for the time being. Austin was his best friend, and if he really wanted to stop people from teasing Ally, Dez wasn't going to be the one to mess up his wishes.
Meanwhile, Trish just smiled. This was how it was meant to be.
Author's note: I hope you like it so far! I know this chapter doesn't really have much to do with the Secret Santa part of this story, but I had to throw in an Auslly sub-plot, you know? Hopefully I can write the next chapter within the next few days, but no guarantees. In the meantime, constructive criticism is appreciated!