Summary: "I don't care what my friends think of me." When Ally's class takes a trip to Paris, she couldn't be more excited - until she's partnered with Austin Moon.
A/N: Almost forgot I had to upload today, whoops. But here it is! Chapter 4.
Disclaimer: I don't own Austin & Ally or "Everything Has Changed" by Taylor Swift ft. Ed Sheeran (chapter title).
I really need to lower my expectations on this trip.
The second day there is basically as thrilling as the first, but we get to go through a couple gift shops the museums have. So far, the only souvenir I have of this trip is a cheap bracelet.
The next few days are just as bad. On the third day, Austin gets his phone taken away again, but thankfully he doesn't try and take mine; on the fourth day it rains, so we're forced to stay at the hotel. I try checking out the room that's locked, but I can't seem to be able to get in. The fifth day is pretty boring, as well. Austin doesn't even bother showing up, so I'm alone, and when it comes to group activities, I can't do anything except watch - which is really surprising, in a way, as I'm pretty sure I'd do better on the activities without my partner. I even try asking Ms. Cromwell about switching partners, but she only tells me she set up the partnerships the way she did for a specific reason, and that I'm just going to have to put up with it.
Finally, on the sixth day, we get to do something better.
It's a Saturday, which means we get to have a little more freedom. It's not a full day of wandering around like the ones we'll get at the end of the trip if we have time, but we get an hour or so to ourselves - well, ourselves along with our partner. So, after our lunch break, I decide to do a bit of window-shopping.
Though I guess it's not entirely window-shopping, considering I have a fair amount of money from working shifts at Sonic Boom, but I'm not really planning on buying anything until later, in case I see something I want more than what I may want now.
It's a bit difficult trying to window-shop and keep track of a partner who seems to be interested in doing anything but that. Austin constantly gets side-tracked by food or clothes or a random souvenir. Finally, after dealing with this for almost half an hour, I give in and let him drag me into a small bakery.
Once we step in, the aroma of fresh baked breads and fancy pastries hits me instantly. I inhale deeply, taking in the great smell, until I find myself sitting down, thanks to Austin hastily shoving me in a seat.
"This place smells amazing!" I say, more to myself than Austin. He just chuckles.
"I'm going to go order," he says, getting up. "Is there anything you want?"
"I can order for myself," I say, starting to stand up.
"Ally, this place is packed. Someone should stay at the table," he explains.
I sit back down, realizing his point. "Oh. Um, I guess I'll just get a blueberry muffin," I say. He shrugs and heads for the line. I decide to take in my surroundings, which is a little hard to do considering, like Austin pointed out, the place is packed. It's not very big, like I said, and the sitting area is very little so we're pretty lucky to find a spare seat, but I guess most people just buy something and leave after. The walls are a beige colour, with paintings of bread and cakes hanging on them, and the only windows are the ones at the front of the store. The counter is to the right of the store, and I really want to get a glimpse of the food displayed there, but there's too many people in the way, so I don't bother.
Finally, after almost 10 minutes, Austin comes back with our food. He hands me my blueberry muffin, then sits down and starts to eat what looks like a donut.
I take my food, then go to pull out my wallet. Austin must know what I'm doing because he stops me, saying, "You don't have to pay me back. It wasn't that much money, anyway."
I drop my wallet back into my purse and set it down. "Oh. Thanks."
We eat quietly for a while before Austin decides to speak up. "So what made you decide you wanted to come to Paris?"
I glance up from my muffin. I take a minute to answer because, other than being slightly shocked he's actually attempting to make conversation, I honestly don't know what to say. "Other than the fact it's Paris?" I ask. I shrug. "I don't really know, to be honest. There's just so much to see here, so much to learn about."
He nods. "I kinda figured you'd enjoy the learning part," he responds, and I swear I almost hear him laugh a little to himself about how predictable I seem to him.
I lean back in my chair. "Okay. What about you? Why did you want to go to Paris? In fact, how did you even get here? No offence or anything, but you just don't seem..." I stop, trying to think of the right word to describe it without being too insulting.
"Smart enough?" he responds.
"I...no, that's not what I -" I start.
"It's fine," he says. "You wouldn't be the first to think so." I can almost hear something like disappointment in his voice, as if he was hoping I might've been different from the rest. And as much as I want to reassure him that I'm not - because for some reason, hearing him sound upset thanks to me isn't something I like - I can't.
I sigh. "I'm sorry," I say. "I didn't mean it like that."
He actually laughs at this.
"What?" I ask.
He shakes his head. "Nothing," he says. He pauses for a moment before continuing. "It's just that I didn't really expect you of all people to feel sorry for me."
"Oh," I say, because, to be honest, I'm kind of surprised myself. "Yeah, I guess that is weird."
I wait a minute before speaking again. "But in all honesty, how did you get on this trip? I mean, you would've had to take academic French, and I'm not saying you're not smart enough to take it, it's just that I sort of thought that...well, that you wouldn't want your friends to think of you as some school nerd," I say. "You know, like you have some sort of 'reputation' you want to keep."
He laughs again at my rambling. "Uh, well, I should probably tell you that I don't really care what my friends think. I mean, they were kind of jerks at the beginning when they heard I was taking 'smart classes', but once they figured out I would be able to go to Paris, they shut up," he says, making air quotes around the words 'smart classes'.
"Oh," I say. "So you don't care what people think of you?"
He shakes his head. "Nope," he answers, leaning back in his chair. "If I did, I think it would get in the way too much."
I look at him confused. "Get in the way? What do you mean?"
He opens his mouth to respond, then shuts it again, reconsidering what to say, or if he wants to say anything at all.
He shakes his head. "Never mind. It's nothing."
I'm about to reply and ask again because part of me is curious as to what would make him stop caring, but then I stop myself. Why do I care? I know we're partners on this trip and all, and getting to know each other even a little is probably a good thing, but if he doesn't think I should know, then why should I bug him about it? It's pointless.
I finish my muffin the same time he stands up, his donut done minutes before. "We should probably get back to the group now," he says.
I stand up. "Yeah," I say, then follow him out the bakery and to the group's designated meeting area.
So this was a lot shorter than I thought it was. But I guess that's okay. Chapter 5 is kinda long - at least, I think - and I'm pretty sure (hoping) you'll enjoy it.
Oh, and idk if anyone even really noticed, but I'm just gonna point out that idk the American schooling system (I live in Canada), so that's why she says academic French as opposed to whatever it is in the States. If it's the same, then I guess I'm good, but...yeah, I just wanted to point that out.
Reviews are pretty nice. :)
