"Doe Eyes & Puppy-Dog Pouts"
A Billion Hits
Disclaimer: check Chapter One. It's the same thing- Do not own
Note: I didn't notice before, but I changed Austin's eye color from hazel to chocolate, so if it switches from time-to-time throughout the story, sorry!
~Special thanks to LoveShipper for being the first to review my story! :3 You're awesome!~
Pairing: Ally Dawson/Austin Moon
Song(s) included: "A Billion Hits" by Ross Lynch
+++After the Helen Show:
Two Days Later- Ally's Practice Room
Ally was talking to Trish as the two best friends made their way upstairs. "I'm telling you, Trish," the former was saying, smiling, "I'm never seeing Austin again. Our performance was a one-time thing. What does he need me for anyway?"
Trish stared at her like she was slow. "Come on, Ally. You can't be serious! He's totally gonna come back. Just wait and see."
"I highly doubt that-" The brunette paused when she opened the door and froze in the doorway. "Austin?" she asked, stunned. "Dez? What are you guys doing here?" Her gaze wandered around the room, now noticing all the changes. "And, what happened to the practice room?"
Austin eagerly stood in front of the petite girl, his hands rubbing together. "I used the money from The Helen Show to remodel our practice room," he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Ally cocked her head to the side, confused. "Our?" she questioned, slight dread expanding in her stomach. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I was hoping we could be partners," he suggested, then continued speaking before she could interrupt. "You're a song writer who doesn't want the spotlight. I'm a performer who loves to be on-stage. We're the perfect match! What do you say?"
"Spend time with you?" she asked, trying to wrap her mind around that one little fact. "Spend more time with you?" Did her voice just squeak? Partners?
Austin shrugged casually. "Sure, why not? That's what partners do, right?" Unknown to Ally, his heart was thumping rapidly in his chest. He wasn't sure what to call the emotion behind it, but he did know he wanted to get to know Ally Dawson better, not just Ally-D.
Trish cut into their conversation, smiling encouragingly. "Ally, this would be a great opportunity. People already think you're coming back into show business; why not like this?"
"That is a good point," the brunette murmured, her chocolate gaze wandering back to Austin. She smiled at his positively hopeful look, and she slowly nodded. "Okay, we're partners."
"Yes!" Austin cheered, fist-pumping the air. Going to hug Ally, the two stopped when she stuck out her hand to shake.
The two paused, knowing this situation was all-too familiar. Laughing, they reversed their actions and stopped again. Having thought the other would stay, they'd done what they'd been doing ever since meeting.
"You know what?" Ally said, dropping her arms completely. Austin copied her without question. "It's still the thought that counts. We'll get it."
The blonde chuckled. "Yeah, sooner or later," he agreed.
Trish broke into the conversation again, a happy grin on her face. "Guess who got a job as Austin's new manager?" she sang out.
Austin nodded, his thumb pointing at the short Latina. "Yeah, you should have seen her resume," he said in amusement. "It was, like, eight pages long. She has a lot of job experience."
"I promised his fans he'd have a new video out every Friday," Trish added, "Oh, and I don't work on Fridays or any other weekdays."
Austin and Ally shared an amused look, both laughing.
Becoming partners was definitely going to be interesting. Maybe even life-changing…
+++One Month Later:
Sonic Boom
Ally was desperately trying to sell a customer a beautiful violin, but she kept getting distracted by Austin's and Dez's need to play badminton with a white birdie and two banjos right over her head. Really, she should be keeping a tab on them for all the damage they caused her instruments…
"Head's up!" Dez called out, his hand striking his banjo down onto the counter, thus breaking the string and wood object in half. However, his attention was focused on the little birdie he'd missed, a frown pulling his mouth down. "Ah, darn. I missed."
"Can you excuse me?" Ally politely asked the woman she'd been assisting. Turning away, she scowled at the ruined instrument. "Don't you guys have anything better to do with your time?"
Austin and Dez gave her blank looks before the latter answered.
"Well, I would be filming Austin's new video, but a certain someone hasn't written any new songs yet."
The blonde nodded in agreement with his friend. "Yeah, Ally. It's been a month since we've become partners, but you haven't been writing anything," he said, eyes beginning to widen with panic. "People are already forgetting who I am!"
Ally rolled her chocolate colored eyes. "That's insane. Who would-?"
"Oh my God, look!" a girl's voice squealed in excitement, "It's Ralphie Hayes! From the dog food commercial."
Austin gave his songwriting partner a horrified look, his wild hand gestures easily saying, See, I told you!
However, the petite brunette didn't look convinced. She shrugged. "It's just a coincidence, Austin. Calm down! Seriously, who would forget someone like you?"
The same girl from earlier, along with her friend, gasped in amazement when they caught sight of Dez, "Oh my God! It's the guy who ate that twenty pound hamburger!"
Dez stopped rummaging around in his backpack to look at them, smiling at being recognized. "Hello, ladies," he greeted, as smoothly as he could.
"Can I have an autograph?" the squealer requested, giving her friend an excited glance.
"Sure." While the girl turned to present her back, moving her hair aside to expose her brown suede jacket, the ginger haired boy brought out a bottle of ketchup and began initialing on the back.
Meanwhile, Ally wrinkled her nose in disgust and Austin turned panicked eyes onto her form.
"See? Everyone is forgetting about me. You need to create a new song, now!" he exclaimed.
Again, she thought Austin was being ridiculous. "Oh, come on, you can't be-"
"-Ally! You need to make a new song and fast!" Trish's voice cut her off, catching everyone's' attention. "Austin just got bumped down by this guy named Ralphie Hayes. Do you have new lyrics yet?"
As the brunette groaned in frustration, the blonde Internet sensation gave her a dry look.
Running her fingers through her chestnut colored locks, which was back to being slightly curled; Ally made her way back behind the counter to pick up her private songbook to wave it at her three friends. "Look, I've been too busy to come up with anything. You can't keep rushing me!"
Dez scoffed, smirking, "What could you possibly be busy with?" It was a known fact that Ally Dawson didn't have much of a social life, especially since she'd stepped out of the spotlight to be a regular teen. She preferred it that way since it meant nobody bothered her.
At least until a certain blonde boy entered her life…
"I've been busy helping out at the store, for one thing," she answered, a semi-offended look on her features, "There's also school and homework to think about, not to mention book club."
Austin chuckled, wondering, "What could be so hard about book club?"
Giving him a superior smirk, Ally dragged out the heavy textbook-like literature piece she'd been assigned and slapped it down onto the counter. "I have to read this by tomorrow."
She took pleasure in the way her friends' eyes widened in disbelief and horror.
Austin squeaked out, "Tomorrow of what year?"
Dez shook his head. "That's no excuse. What about a song you've already written? Just use one of those."
His suggestion was met with a firm shake of Ally's head. "Those are incomplete and personal. Besides, they're just random lines I thought of and jotted down." Frustration was quickly eating away at her patience as her friends began to protest and whine.
She held up a hand, her other almost viciously opening her songbook. "You guys really want a song that bad?" she snapped out.
"Yes," they all answered in exasperation, like they were talking to a stubborn child.
Pencil about ready to snap in half with the pressure being applied to it, Ally scribbled words out she didn't know where they came from. All she knew was that she wanted them to get off her back so she could find some peace of mind.
Ripping the paper out, she balled it up and threw it at Austin, who caught it after it bounced off his shoulder.
She pouted when he smiled at her, saying, "See, that wasn't so hard," while straightening it to read.
"Uh, Ally, I have no idea what you wrote down."
Trish and Dez looked over Austin's shoulders to see if they could make it out, but they both shook their heads.
"What kind of lyrics are these?" Trish asked her friend, curious.
Ally rolled her eyes, wishing they'd just go away. Her father couldn't have picked a worse time to go to a convention, thus leaving her in charge of the store.
"The only reason it's illegible is because you guys were rushing me to write something down. I mean," she said defensively, "I went to Calligraphy camp!"
Austin and Dez laughed.
"Calligraphy camp?" Austin asked, incredulous. "First, it's book club then Calligraphy camp. Now we know you're making stuff up."
Ally shot a glare at the blonde before walking away. She had customers to help; she didn't have time to deal with people who will just nag her until they get their way.
+++Practice Room:
Later that Day
Ally opened the door to her (and Austin's) practice room only to freeze where she stood. "What is going on here?" she demanded to know, jaw dropping open at the sight before her. "Is that a kangaroo?"
Dez and Austin turned to smile at the brunette, the former answering, "Yeah, I figured it would be a great idea if we had a kangaroo, like how your lyrics say."
Ally gave him a confused look, brows furrowed. "Where in my lyrics did I put there was a kangaroo?"
Dez held up his hands in defense. "Hey, I didn't say anything about your lyrics being good." Snapping his fingers, he turned his attention onto Austin just as quickly as it had shifted. "How about we have the kangaroo play the guitar for the video?"
Austin instantly nodded, rubbing his hands eagerly together. "Great idea, Dez!" Grabbing a nearby guitar, he offered it to the Australian animal. "Here, buddy, you wanna play the guitar?"
Ally watched with mounting horror as the kangaroo sniffed the expensive instrument before slapping it out of her blonde friend's hands, which caused him to yelp and jump back before he got struck himself.
"I guess he doesn't want to play the guitar," Austin commented nervously, eyes warily glued to the animal.
The brunette was about to scream with frustration, but Trish walking into the room cut her off.
"Guess who got a job at the dry cleaners?" the Latina sang out, a black leather jacket flung over her shoulder casually. "By the way, Austin, I got you this jacket to use in your video, like in Ally's lyrics."
This time said songwriter did groan out loud. "I didn't put that there was a leather jacket in the song," she said, rolling her eyes at the entire situation. "It said, 'I like it when you hang around'."
Trish shrugged. "Oh well, at least Austin will still look cool." She turned to give said boy a stern glare. "I need it back before eight, though. I sort of borrowed the jacket from a guy named Face Puncher."
"Trish," Austin gasped, backing away from the girl and her leather jacket. "Why would you borrow something when the owner has a name like Face Puncher?"
"Hey, do you want people to remember who you are? Trust me, this will work."
Trying to look on the bright side of things, Ally started walking closer to the kangaroo, commenting, "Well, at least the kangaroo is cute –I just stepped in kangaroo poop." Her nose wrinkled in disgust, she lightly hopped away to clean up the mess. So much for looking at the bright side.
"Hold on," Dez exclaimed, catching their attention, "How do you know it was kangaroo poop? I mean, Trish was in here earlier." He sent the Latina in question a suspicious glare, which she returned with a heated one of her own.
"Don't make me slap those freckles off your face," she hissed.
He gasped, hands covering said facial marks. "My freckles are my friends! Can you say the same about your poop?"
Trish placed the jacket down, her gaze promising extreme pain when she got her hands on the ginger haired boy.
"Guys, guys," Ally protested, playing peacekeeper. "Calm down. We don't have time for this."
Austin nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we have to work on my video."
Ally gave him an exasperated glare. "Can we worry about something other than your video for, like, a second? Like, how are we supposed to repair that guitar the kangaroo broke?"
"We wouldn't have to worry about it if you'd written a new song before now," he shot back, his frustration more than clear.
Her chocolate eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Are you saying this is my fault?" she demanded to know, hands resting lightly on her hips in indignation.
Austin released a sigh, taking a seat on the piano bench. "No, of course not," he answered, "I'm just saying, if you'd written the song faster, we wouldn't be in this position." He stopped, a light bulb seemingly going off in his head, and he stood back up. "Now that I'm saying this out loud, yeah, I guess I am blaming you."
Her mouth open to retort, Ally was interrupted when Trish let out an alarmed shriek. "Oh no, the kangaroo is eating Face Puncher's jacket!"
The singer and songwriter whipped their attention onto said animal. As plain as day, they watched with sick fascination as the kangaroo managed to pull the jacket to the ground where he preceded to chew on the black leather and shiny spikes.
"Someone grab the jacket," Trish panicked, her hands waving helplessly.
"I got it," Dez said, reaching down to snatch it away. However, he didn't count on the kangaroo to also hold onto it, which ensued in a tug-of-war contest between man and animal.
"Let it go, let it go, let it go," the ginger haired teen kept chanting, hoping the kangaroo would listen and release the jacket.
When the kangaroo finally let go, Dez fell backwards, hands releasing the precious jacket. Austin, Ally, and Trish had no choice but to watch as it landed in a tub of something golden-brown.
"Oh no," the Latina moaned in despair, fingers reaching down to grab the jacket out and hopefully save it. "Ew, what is this? It's all sticky."
Dez popped up beside her, a smile on his face. "It's caramel. I wasn't sure if Ally wrote caramel or camel, so I ordered both."
Ally gaped, "You ordered a camel too?"
He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "What? No, of course not!"
A sudden knock had the four teenagers freezing where they stood, but Dez was the one to open the door. A man stood outside, his clothes suggesting he was some sort of zoo keeper. In his hands he held a long piece of rope, which was dangling from something that was too tall for the doorway.
"Hey, did someone order a camel?" he inquired curiously.
"No," Dez instantly answered, slamming the door closed before more could be revealed. Leaning against the wooden barrier, he gave his three friends a sheepish smile, like he was trying to convince them nothing had happened.
Needing to prioritize, Ally looked back down to the broken guitar. "Okay, what are we gonna do about the guitar? My dad is gonna freak if he finds out we broke a really expensive instrument."
"Forget the guitar," Trish said, "What are we gonna do about the jacket? We have to clean it somehow!"
Ally grit her teeth. "Aren't you working at a dry cleaners?" she hinted.
"Oh, right, why didn't I think of that?" the Latina replied, tapping her forehead in a duh-way. "How do you clean caramel off?"
"I better go with you," the brunette said, then turned her gaze onto Austin. "I need you to watch the store while we're gone. I'll find out how much it'll cost to repair the guitar, so just man the register."
Austin nodded in understanding. "Man, I can't wait until this is all over, then we can get back to making my video," he couldn't help but say, but Ally ignored him and left with Trish, completely ignoring the man with the camel as they passed.
+++Dry Cleaners:
With Ally and Trish
While scrubbing the caramel from the black leather, Ally emptied her frustrations onto Trish, who stood to the side in case Ally needed anything handed to her.
"I can't believe how Austin is being; how inconsiderate. He can't just expect lyrics to just flow out of me, like a river after a rain of tears." She paused, eyes brightening, "Oh, that's good. I have to write that down."
Reaching for her songbook, she jotted down the line.
Trish teased, "Maybe you'll write it down in handwriting we'll be able to read this time."
Ally paused, shooting her best friend a glare. "Can you read this?" she asked, scribbling something down before showing it to Trish.
"Yes, I can" she answered, then added, "And that is not a nice word!"
Feeling rather proud of herself, Ally went back to scrubbing the jacket. "Anyway, why can't he realize that I have other responsibilities and that I'm busy with other stuff, so can't work on songs twenty-four-seven? That it can't be rushed?"
"Yeah, yeah, totally inconsiderate," Trish agreed in a distracted voice. "Now, hurry up before someone comes in."
Hearing stomping footsteps, the girls panicked and Trish ended up throwing the jacket in a random direction behind the counter right when the bell above the door dinged with a new customer.
"I'm here to pick up my jacket," a menacing voice stated, which caused Ally and Trish to slightly cringe in their spots.
Trying to lessen the tension in the small shop, Ally commented nervously, "You're Face Puncher? You don't look like a Face Puncher. You look more like a Hand Holder or even a Hug Giver!" She extended her arms, like she expected him to give her a hug.
Face Puncher growled, which caused Ally to whimper in defeat and step behind Trish.
"C-Can I have your ticket?" Trish asked, a fake smile on her face.
The burly man slapped it down onto the counter, and Trish cautiously picked it up, like she expected the innocent paper to bite her.
"Oh, I see the problem here," she said, laughing nervously, "I read your ticket wrong. I thought you would be coming in at eight, not right now. Your jacket isn't ready –Sorry!"
Face Puncher growled again, his pointer finger coming up to point menacingly at Trish (and Ally). "What kind of employee are you?" he barked out, more than demanding an answer.
"A horrible one," Trish immediately squeaked out, "Ask anyone! They'll tell you the same thing."
Ally felt the need to defend her friend. "Well, if she just applied herself more, I'm sure she'd be a great employee-"
"Ally!"
"-She's the worst. Ask anyone!"
Face Puncher growled again, but backed off. "Fine, I'll be back at eight, but I'll have Mad Dog with me." He leaned closer, which caused the girls to cower away. "And Mad Dog hates waiting." With that, he turned and stomped out of the shop.
"Oh God, we have to get this jacket cleaned," Trish stated, her panic making her voice squeak even more than her confrontation with Face Puncher.
Ally pointed to a sterling-silver washing machine she hadn't noticed before. "How about that heavy duty washer? That should do the trick," she eagerly suggested.
"Yeah, good idea, Ally," the Latina said, jogging over to it. Shoving the jacket in, she used her buttocks to make it fit before slamming the door closed and pressing random buttons until it started.
"You know how to use one of those?" the brunette asked in surprise.
Trish began to turn to face her friend. "No, of course not," she scoffed. The bell dinging made them freeze again, afraid Face Puncher came back because he changed his mind.
For several seconds they didn't hear anything, so cautiously turned at the same time to see who it was.
"You see the kangaroo, too, right?" Trish muttered to Ally, who nodded.
+++Sonic Boom:
With Austin and Dez
"I don't know, I don't know, I don't know," Austin said to three different customers, his voice starting to panic with how many people were there. Turning to another customer, he loudly stated, "No, this isn't the ear doctor!"
Dez suddenly jumped out of the practice room, a panicked look on his face. "Austin, I need some help up here!" he called out.
"I can't," the blonde called back, "I promised Ally I would watch the store." Turning his head to face the front, he gestured wildly with his hands at a customer. "No, this isn't the eye doctor!"
His help was rewarded as the guy wearing glasses nodded but ended up turning right into two racks of multiple cymbals. Austin had no choice but to wince as it all crashed onto the tiled floor. Hopefully Ally wouldn't notice the mess…
Austin turned back to face Dez, his gaze hopeless. "I can't just let some stranger run the store! You're on your own, man."
Dez groaned in misery but went back into the practice room.
Austin turned to pick up the store's phone, but a loud crash had him whipping to face the first person he laid his eyes on. "Hey stranger! You're in charge!"
Hopping over the counter, he called out, "Don't worry, buddy! I'm coming to help!" without another thought.
+++Sonic Boom:
Practice Room
Ally burst through the door, demanding to know, "Why is there a stranger manning the register?"
Austin and Dez froze where they stood, which was in the middle of a mostly destroyed room.
The former laughed nervously, "Ally, you wouldn't guess what happened."
"The kangaroo got loose," she said, hands resting on her hips.
Austin smiled. "Wow, you're good at this game."
Shaking her head at his incompetence, she asked, "How did the kangaroo get loose to begin with?"
Dez happily answered, "I was trying to strap a camera to its pouch but I stepped on its tail, which woke it from a deep, dark slumber." He shrugged carelessly. "Then, it totally freaked out for no apparent reason."
"Why would you attach a camera to the kangaroo?" Ally asked, wanting to get their story straight before she killed them.
"We thought it would be cool for Austin's video."
Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, the petite brunette stated, "We'll have to worry about that later. For now, I managed to look up the price for repairing the guitar. We need to figure out a way to raise five-hundred dollars before my dad gets back; otherwise, I'm toast."
"If we don't get something up on my website, my career is toast," Austin added, which didn't help their situation nor Ally's temper.
"Is anyone else craving toast right now?" Dez asked, a thoughtful look on his face.
In response, he got three different pairs of eyes glaring at him into silence and sheepish head rubbing.
+++Sonic Boom:
With Austin and Ally
Austin caught Ally's wrist gently as she made her way back behind the counter. "Hey, I'm sorry about nagging you about the song," he apologized, a truly regretful expression on his boyish face. "I didn't mean for things to get so out of hand."
Ally smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Austin," she said, voice softening, "And, I know you didn't mean for all of this to happen. It's not your fault. You're just nervous about people forgetting you."
"Yeah, I am nervous about that," he admitted, which would be a first. Austin Moon was never nervous about anything. At least, that's what he liked to believe. "I guess it's because I don't exactly have a career yet, so I panicked when people started recognizing me as the dog food commercial guy instead."
Leaning forward to make sure their eyes stayed connected, she said, "To me, you would be impossible to forget." A teasing grin touched her face and she added, "And it's not because I see you every day."
When she straightened, she completely missed the way Austin's cheeks flushed crimson. She also missed the dopey smile curving his lips upward, and he was glad she couldn't hear his heart pounding inside his ribcage.
He still couldn't put a name to this emotion Ally infused him with, but he knew he liked it. Maybe more than he should…
Mentally shaking his head to clear it, Austin turned his attention onto Dez, who was rushing his way inside with a bucket of something in his hands. The ginger haired teen was also throwing what looked to be food onto the ground, all leading to Sonic Boom.
"Dez, what are you doing?" Ally moaned out in despair.
He scoffed, "Everyone knows the way to attract a kangaroo is by leaving a trail of mangoes, fish sticks, and croutons."
Austin's eyes widened and he pointed wildly behind his best friend. "Um, Dez?" he called out, trying to get Dez to turn around. "I don't think that's how you attract kangaroos."
Ally watched with an unreadable expression as Dez turned around and finally caught sight of the llama. She would admit that it was rather cute, but she'd thought the same of their little Australian friend and then stepped into his poop. She wasn't taking any chances on this new visitor.
Dez groaned. "Oh, this must be food to attract llamas, not kangaroos." Throwing the bucket down in frustration, he stomped away to think up another plan.
Austin snapped his fingers as a sudden thought came to him. "Hey, Dez, didn't you put your camera on the kangaroo? And isn't it hooked up to our computers?"
"That's right," he exclaimed, instantly pulling his laptop open and accessing the camera's live feed. Ally and Austin crowded around, wanting to see where their little friend escaped to.
Ally pointed out, "Oh, he's in the food court!"
Dez jumped away, starting to sprint as fast as he could, eyes and hands glued to his laptop. "Don't worry, little guy! I'm coming to get you!"
Trish walked in right when Dez was about to pass her. She was stuck as he circled her a couple of times before disappearing, shouting at people to get out of his way. Shaking her head, she smiled at Austin and Ally, who were back behind the counter.
"Guess who solved all of our problems," she sang out, grinning.
Ally returned the grin, excitement beginning to bubble in her stomach at the positive sounding news. "You did," she said confidently.
Austin gave his songwriter an impressed look. "Wow, Ally, you're great at this guessing game."
She waved his compliment modestly away, asking Trish, "So, how did you solve our problems?"
The Latina placed a heart-shaped purse onto the counter and opened it. "I sold one-hundred tickets for a private Austin Moon performance to be done here, in the store, for six bucks a piece."
Taking out the money, she handed it to Ally, who gratefully accepted it. "Here's five-hundred."
"But, you said you sold it for six bucks a ticket," Ally said, confused, "What did you do with the rest of the money?" Not that she cared, but she was curious.
In a semi-defensive tone, Trish answered, "What? I needed something to carry the money around in." Her hand lifted up the heart-shaped purse to add emphasis.
Not surprised, Ally chuckled as she safely put the money away.
Austin was positively beaming with happiness and adrenaline. "One-hundred people," he said, turning to look at Ally, "One-hundred people are coming to see me. This is so cool!"
Ally patted his arm, grinning back. She couldn't help it; his smile was contagious. "See, and you were worried people forgot all about you."
"Yeah," he said, "Thanks, Ally. I gotta go get ready. One-hundred people are coming to see me!" With that, he hopped the counter (again) and ran up to the practice room.
The brunette looked at her best friend, still beaming. "This is great. I'm so happy for Austin. He's so excited about such a huge crowd coming out to see him."
"We~ll," Trish drew out nervously, her voice going high-pitched as she paced to stand on the other side of the store.
Ally frowned suspiciously. "That was a long 'well'. What are you hiding?"
Trish paced again, this time ending up near the entrance to Ally's work station. "We~ll," she said again, shrugging, but stopped when she saw the glare Ally was giving her. "Sorry. It's just –They're not coming out to see Austin, per say.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Trish began picking at the edge of her shirt. "I kind of promised that they would be able to take pictures with the kangaroo," she sheepishly admitted, "And… You."
Ally distinctly felt her jaw drop. "What?" she fairly breathed out.
"Well, Austin is more like the opening act!" Trish said, trying to lighten the mood. "The unannounced opening act, but the opening act nonetheless."
"Trish," she protested, "Austin is gonna be devastated when he finds out. How could you let this happen?"
"He doesn't have to find out! Just don't say anything to him."
Ally knew for a fact that that would be harder than it sounded.
+++Sonic Boom:
With Ally and Trish
Trish laughed hysterically as she watched the live feed of the kangaroo beating up Dez, who was helpless to protect himself.
"Ooh, that is not somewhere you want a kangaroo to kick you," she said, wincing but never looking away from the screen.
Not hearing anything from Ally, who had been watching every now and then over her shoulder, the Latina tore her eyes away from Dez's beat-down to see what her best friend was up to. She found the brunette scribbling lyrics down in her songbook, her lips curved up slightly as she continued to compose music like there was no tomorrow.
Grabbing her laptop, she placed it down near Ally. "Hey, what are you doing?" she curiously asked.
Ally glanced up quickly before returning to her work. "I'm just working on some new lyrics for Austin. I want this to be his best performance since they're not exactly here to see him." Her voice had saddened towards the end, and she sighed. "I feel so torn, Trish. I want to tell him the truth, but I don't want to ruin his good mood. He's just so excited about today's performance. I don't want to hurt his feelings when he finds out."
"I'm torn, too, Ally," Trish said sympathetically, her hand patting Ally on the shoulder. "I mean, I need Dez to capture the kangaroo, but I don't want this to end." This, being Dez's defeat by said animal. She laughed again when something on the screen caught her attention.
Ally half-heartedly laughed along, but both girls winced in the next second. "Oh, that's gonna leave a mark," she hissed out, only imaging how much pain the ginger haired boy must be in.
"Definitely," the Latina agreed.
Closing the laptop for now, Trish turned to take her 'shift' at watching the store for Ally, knowing her best friend needed to speak to Austin. If she knew Ally the way she did, Trish had a feeling Ally would do anything to make tonight perfect for their blonde friend. That was just the type of person Ally Dawson was, after all.
She paused, brows furrowing as something she'd just noticed caught her attention.
"Hey, you see the llama, too, right?"
+++Practice Room:
With Austin and Ally
Ally walked in as Austin was doing some vocal warm-ups to make sure his voice sounded perfect for his live performance that would be starting any minute now.
Seeing her reflection from the mirror, Austin grinned and stopped singing. "Hey, Ally," he greeted, turning to give her his undivided attention. "What's up?"
She closed the door, her song clutched nervously in her hands. "I just wrote you some new lyrics," she answered, trying to suppress her nervous energy. "I mean, it's the least I could do, seeing as how everyone isn't here to see you…"
Austin gave her a confused look, although his eyes didn't stray far from the papers she'd handed him.
"-Fail," she quickly added, eyes widening in panic. "Everyone didn't come here to see you fail. That's what I meant. Gotta go."
Turning on her heel, she fast-walked to the door, wishing the floor would just swallow her before she spilled everything out.
"Wait, Ally," Austin called, stopping her where she stood. "I wanted to apologize again for pressuring you about the song. Like you said, I was nervous that people were forgetting who I am. So, I'm sorry, again."
She gave him a soft smile over her shoulder. "Don't worry, I understand. I forgive you." And she did. But she wished he would stop mentioning it. The truth was brutally trying to makes its way out of her mouth the longer she stayed in his presence. "Gotta go."
Ally made to leave again, but was stalled once more when the door opened and Dez and Trish entered. The former was pulling a wiggling sack into the practice room, out of breath.
"I finally managed to bag him," Dez said, dropping the end of the sack he was holding. "And, trust me, it was not easy."
"Yeah, but at least now people will get what they came here for," Trish happily said, pointing one finger at the kangaroo while another pointed in Ally's direction.
Seeing this, Ally quickly readjusted the digits until they both pointed at Austin. "Yeah, now everyone will totally be able to concentrate on Austin's performance," she exclaimed, trying to cover her odd behavior.
Dropping Trish's hands, she made her escape again. "Gotta go!"
If she wanted things to be perfect for Austin, she was going to have to do whatever it took to make that possible. Even if it meant becoming Ally-D for a little while.
+++Sonic Boom:
Austin's Performance
When the blonde performer came out to greet the crowd, he was momentarily stunned when he saw Ally dressed in her Ally-D persona –ripped jeans, a neon blue tank top with leopard spots, ankle boots, and straightened hair. When had she had the time to change so quickly?
Ally smiled at Austin, ignoring the cheers that came from the audience as she stepped onto the make-shift stage. Microphone in hand, she spoke into it, her eyes never leaving Austin's figure. "Hey, everyone, are you ready?"
The audience answered with a loud exclamation of, "Yeah!"
"That's awesome," she called out, grinning, "Because here to sing for you is my good friend and partner, Austin Moon!"
Austin couldn't stop the ear-to-ear grin on his face as he made his way down the stairs while everyone watched his progress across the store. Hopping the counter, he jumped on stage to stand next to Ally, who was cheering the loudest for him.
"What are doing up here?" he asked, smiling widely. At this rate, his face would get stuck like that; not that he minded since it was aimed at Ally.
Shifting the microphone away so that their conversation stayed private, Ally answered, "I know how much you like it when we perform together, so I thought I'd dress up as Ally-D and introduce you, at least. I just want you to have the best show, Austin."
He threw an arm around her shoulder in a half-hug that had all the feeling behind a full one. "Thank you, Ally," he whispered, "You just made this my absolute favorite performance."
When they pulled back, they shared a wide grin.
"Hey," a random girl called out, catching their attention, "Where's the kangaroo?"
Ally sheepishly handed Austin the microphone, her feet backing her away to stand behind and to the side of him. There was no way she was going to answer that in case she revealed everything.
Austin smiled. "Oh, we finally caught him. Thanks for the concern."
Reattaching the microphone to the stand, he announced, "I'm Austin Moon and I'm here to perform a song for you. It's called, "A Billion Hits" and was written by the best songwriter ever, Ally Dawson. Hope you like it!"
The music started and Ally nervously watched as the audience gave each other confused glances. She was glad, however, that Austin hadn't noticed as he started to bounce to the beat.
A Billion Hits:
"Didn't go nowhere, never left uh
You really thought that I was
Gone (gone gone gone)
I heard you talking like I lost my swagger
Said I was over you were
Wrong (wrong wrong wrong)
I'm always improving
Always on the move and
Working on my flow
To take it to the studio
This is not a comeback
Following my own path
Laying down the fat tracks
Still a music maniac"
Austin grinned as he danced around his microphone stand, his hand reaching behind him to pull Ally out to dance alongside him. He wouldn't be where he was without her, and he wanted to show her that being in the spotlight again wasn't so bad.
She just had to find the right person to share it with.
"Whoaaa
Well I know that I'll make it
Never put my head down
T-t-turn it up loud
Yeahhhhh
Cause I don't have to fake it
If I keep on working it
A billion hits is what I'll get
Wooooahhhh
That's what I'm gonna get
Wooooahhhh
That's what I'm gonna get
Yeahhhh
Cause I know that I'll make it
Overload the internet
A billion hits is what I'll get
A billion hits is what I'll get"
Ally laughed as Austin twirled her, her straightened hair flowing around her face prettily. She was glad he had yet to let go of her hand; otherwise, she was sure she would have fallen flat on her face. A dancer she was not. But he was great at moving to the beat –She was almost envious.
She squeaked in slight distress when he hopped from the make-shift stage to on top of the counter, dragging her along but making sure she didn't lose her balance. His free hand easily held the microphone, and he continued to dance with her like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Dare she say it but she was having fun being the center of attention again…
"Now you can't breathe
Why so quiet
No you don't believe your
Eyes (eyes eyes eyes)
You pushed me till' I had to
Start this riot, now I'll never be
Denied (-nied -nied -nied)
I'm always improving
Always on the move and
Working on my flow
Till' ya hear me on the radio
I know I can be a star
Take off like a rocket car
Everyday I'm working hard
To get my name on every chart
Whoa
Well I know that I'll make it
Never put my head down
T-t-turn it up loud
Yeahhh
Cause I don't have to fake it
If I keep on working it
A billion hits is what I'll get"
Dez moved along with the dancing duo, his camera firmly in his hand. He didn't want to miss a second of this! With his mad skills with a computer, he would be able to make one of the best music videos he'd ever made. He wouldn't even need special effects; Austin and Ally looked great together. It was obvious the two were meant to share the spotlight.
But, how to convince Ally?
"Wooooahhhh
That's what I'm gonna get
Wooooahhhh
That's what I'm gonna get
Yeahhh
Cause I know that I'll make it
Overload the internet
A billion hits is what I'll get
Call someone
I think this is an emergency
Hey
Pull the plug
Austin's blowing up my p.c.
Every hour day and night
Can't get this rocker out my site
You can't get me outta your site
You can't get me outta your site
You thought that I was gone
Guess that you were wrong
Cause I just wrote your new favorite song"
From the sidelines, Trish loudly cheered for Austin and Ally, but mostly for her brunette best friend. The Latina knew the full story as to why Ally had left show business, and she was happy Ally was finally having fun again while on-stage.
One day, Trish knew she would have to thank Austin for giving Ally back something she'd always found precious: her joy at being able to perform live. Trish had always regretted not being able to help Ally, which made Austin's accomplishment all the more amazing.
She cheered extra loudly when Austin jumped back to the original stage, his hand still clasped with Ally's. The Latina thoroughly enjoyed it when the blonde singer caught Ally against his chest when she lightly stumbled on the landing, but quickly made it look like a twirl that had everyone going crazy.
"Woooahhhh
Well I know that I'll make it
Never put my head down
T-t-turn it up loud
Yeahhh
Cause I don't have to fake it
If I keep on working it
A billion hits is what I'll get
Woooahhh
That's what I'm gonna get
Woooahhh
That's what I'm gonna get
Yeahhh
Cause I know that I'll make it
Overload the internet
A billion hits is what I'll get"
Austin did his big finish, Ally standing right beside him, their hands still holding onto each other. He grinned as the audience went wild, which prompted him to pull Ally into a hug. Who needed to get stuck on whether to give a hug or handshake? He made sure they got it right this time.
Ally laughed breathlessly as she returned the embrace happily. She'd forgotten how fun performing was, although she hadn't actually done anything except be Austin's impromptu dance partner. She still had fun, which counted the most to her.
And it was all thanks to Austin Moon, Internet sensation, and unknowing song thief.
She'd never met a better criminal than him.
+++Dry Cleaners:
With Team Austin
Austin and Ally watched their performance from Dez's camera, both happy with the results. It was truly amazing what their ginger haired friend could do –They looked amazing!
"This is great, Dez," Austin commented, handing the camera back.
"Yeah," he agreed, nodding enthusiastically, "With this footage and my mad skills with a computer, I can have this uploaded to your website tonight."
"Awesome," Austin, Ally, and Trish said in excitement.
Ally turned a large smile onto Austin. "See, even though the audience came for the kangaroo, they stayed for the Moon."
Austin chuckled in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
Her smile instantly dropped, and she pulled Trish back when the Latina fast-walked to the washer to avoid the potential confrontation.
"This is why you shouldn't tell me secrets," she whispered frantically to the shorter girl before releasing her to face her blonde friend.
Ally tried her best to explain but knew she should just state the honest facts before she messed it up. "Everyone who showed up weren't there to see you… They were there to take pictures with the kangaroo." There was no way she was going to admit to being part of the draw, too. The kangaroo was bad enough.
Austin's facial features dropped to unreadable, but Ally took it as a good sign that he wasn't blowing up in disappointment.
"So, they didn't know who I was?" he questioned slowly, trying to wrap his mind around the situation.
"That doesn't matter," she soothed, "Even if they didn't know who you were tonight, they do now."
A smile broke out on his face, and Ally was glad he was taking the news so well. "It's okay," he said, shrugging. "You're right. They do know who I am now, so it's fine. Honestly."
Ally smiled sweetly. "As long as you keep performing the way you do, you'll always have an Austin Moon fan."
"As long as you keep writing songs the way you do," he modestly said back, cheeks flushing a pale pink, "I'll always be an Ally Dawson fan." He paused to let her soak that in, teasingly adding, "Just please don't make me wait another month."
"Oh, okay," she easily acquiesced, lifting her giant book from under the counter. "Just read this for me and tell me all about it."
When she handed it to him, Austin didn't think it could be that heavy, despite its size, especially when Ally carried it so easily. Boy was he wrong. His hands dropped, the back of the book slamming onto the edge of the counter.
He released a small laugh, snatching his hands away from the literature. "I can wait a month," he quickly said, changing his mind.
In response, Ally treated him to a smug smile.
"Oh no!" Trish exclaimed, catching everyone's' attention. She walked closer to them, her hands holding up a shrunken jacket that had been dyed pink somehow. "Look what happened to Face Puncher's jacket!"
Dez frowned thoughtfully at it. "Yeah, it looks different but I can't figure out how."
Trish gave him a disbelieving look. "It shrunk and it's pink!"
"No, that's not it."
Before the Latina could explode on the ginger haired boy, the bell above the door dinged and a loud, "Hey!" came from the front.
Austin (as well as everyone) jumped, his hands instinctively moving to Ally's shoulders to move her securely behind him in a valiant attempt to protect her.
Face Puncher growled at the gathered teens, a scowl firmly on his face. "I came to pick up my championship jacket."
Trish laughed nervously, but she was the one holding said jacket so had no choice but to place it down in front of the customer. "That'll be six dollars," she said, cautiously sticking her hand out for the charge.
He growled in anger, and she squeaked out, "You know what? It's free; no charge!"
"What have you done to my jacket?" he demanded to know, hands clutching the once black material, not to mention it had been much larger.
Dez, being the 'brave' individual he was, stepped closer with a considering expression. "Yeah, I couldn't figure out what was different either."
Face Puncher growled again, teeth gritted. His fist raised to possibly hit Dez, Austin pushed his friend aside to try to lessen the tension.
"Listen Mr. Face Puncher," the blonde tried, "It's my fault this happened to your jacket. My friends were just trying to help me out, so if you punch anyone, it should be me." A short pause later, he lightly added, "But, I kind of need my face, so if you could punch me in the shoulder... Or even the foot? Maybe my hip? That would be great."
Face Puncher grabbed him by the collar of his blue suit-like jacket, pulling Austin closer and almost over the counter. "How about all of the above?" he rhetorically asked, fist poised to do just that.
"Austin!" Ally cried out, stepping forward to somehow help.
The bell dinged again, and a little girl dressed as a pink ballerina came into view. "Daddy, what is taking so long?" she demanded to know, hands on her hips. "You know I hate waiting."
"Mad Dog," her father said as calmly as possible, "Daddy is dealing with something."
"That's Mad Dog," Ally said in stunned disbelief, eyes locked on the little girl.
Mad Dog ignored her dad, her gaze focused on the pink jacket he was enraged over. "Oh, is that for me, Daddy? It's beautiful!"
Face Puncher quickly dropped Austin, and Ally pulled the blonde away from the line-of-fire.
"Of course, princess," the burly man said, giving the teens a warning look to not interfere. Placing the jacket onto his daughter, he lifted her up to carry her out of the store.
"Thank you – You're the best Daddy ever!" Mad Dog was excitedly saying, but gasped as she laid eyes clearly on Austin and Ally. "Oh my God! You're Austin Moon, aren't you? And you're Ally-D!"
Austin and Ally chuckled lightly. "Yeah," the former answered. "Would you like an autograph?"
"Would I," the little girl said, practically wiggling out of her father's arms. He had a good grip on her, however, so placed her down to sit on the counter, her back facing Austin and Ally.
While the two signed their names on her back, she excitedly said, "I'm a huge fan of yours, Austin, and Ally-D – I've been watching all of your videos. You're both so amazing and cool!"
"Thank you," they both said gratefully, always happy to meet a fan.
Face Puncher smiled slightly at Dez, pointing a finger at him. "Aren't you the guy who ate the twenty pound hamburger?" he asked, impressed.
Dez smirked at being recognized again. "Why, yes, I am," he answered. From under the counter, he brought out a ketchup bottle and began squirting his initials over the front of Face Puncher's gray shirt.
The Ultimate Fighter growled, "I didn't ask for an autograph."
Dez squeaked in distress and threw the bottle in a random direction. His life on the line, he made a quick get-away with the burly man hot on his heels.
Mad Dog smiled gratefully at Austin and Ally, not worried about what was happening. "Thanks, Austin and Ally-D," she said in her sweetest tone, clearly happy about getting to meet her favorite Internet sensations.
"Yeah, no problem," Ally absently said, nervously tracking Dez's progress of getting away from the bigger male. "Anytime, Mad Dog."
The little ballerina huffed when she noticed her Dad wasn't back yet from beating up Dez, wherever that ended up being. "Daddy, beat him up quick! You know I hate waiting!" she called out, arms crossed over her chest impatiently.
Austin, Ally, and Trish all exchanged panicked glances. The three friends wondered if they should go save Dez, but neither knew how.
Ally took out her phone. "Should I call for an ambulance?" she asked.
Dez screamed, and Austin winced, not knowing what was happening to his best friend. "Maybe the morgue would be better?" he suggested, unsure.
Trish nodded. "Definitely."
+++The Next Day:
Food Court Fountain
The four friends were surrounded around Trish's laptop, their hysterical laughter causing passing people to stare at them curiously but not interfering.
"Ooh," they all groaned, wincing at the sight they were witnessing.
Austin bit his finger in sympathetic pain, his other arm casually draped behind Ally, who was sitting next to Trish, with Dez on the Latina's other side. All of them had their faces screwed up in agony.
Meanwhile, on the sidelines, Mr. Dawson, Ally's Dad, rolled his eyes in exasperation. One arm was in a sling, one of his eyes was blackened, and he had numerous scratches on his face.
"How much longer are you kids going to watch me get mugged by that kangaroo?" he asked.
"Until it stops being funny," Trish immediately answered, eyes never leaving the screen.
The four gasped as they witnessed the kangaroo start scratching at Lester Dawson. "Wow, that looked like it really hurt," Dez stated, now knowing the animal had been going easy on him.
They started laughing again as they watched Lester try to reason with the Australian creature. Their hysterics were cut off, however, when Lester walked by, snatching the laptop out of Trish's hands.
"Aw," the four moaned, their entertainment gone. Pouting, they wondered what they should do for the rest of day.
+++The End+++
Until next time!
~Thank you for reading the next chapter; please review! I want to hear what you liked/disliked- it would be much appreciated!~
LoveShipper – Again, you're awesome for reviewing! (: You get two because you're AMAZE-ING!
