Chapter 4: Magic Kingdom
A/N: Sorry for not updating in a few days! I know a lot of yall thought my story was over, but I decided to write some more to it. Anyways, hope yall like it! Please review!
Ally's POV
I was being kidnapped. Taken against my will. Shoved into a dark closet and harassed. By none other than my best friend, Trish.
She marched into Sonic Boom, grabbed my arm, and yanked me into the storage closet without listening to my protests. She had that scary look of determination on her face, and I quit talking. Something was up.
"So. You and Austin, huh? When were you gonna tell me?" She demanded, closing the door behind us.
"Oh, thank God! I thought you were about to tell me some ridiculous plan like you do." I sighed, grateful I wasn't being dragged into another Trish situation.
"Answer me! Are you and Austin dating?" Trish asked again.
"Um, well, I, uh… don't really know." I admitted sheepishly. After our special camping trip, we never really decided anything, and I was pretty confused myself. Neither of us had said anything about dating, but there was something there.
"You don't know. How do you not know if you're dating someone or not? Look, if I don't hear the whole story, I will kill you." She tapped her foot impatiently, and I chuckled at her dramatic tone.
I continued to explain everything in great detail. She went into a laughing fit when I told her how Austin had kissed my cheek, and I blushed.
"Why are you laughing? It's not funny!" I yelled.
"He kissed your cheek! What a wimp! That is too hilarious!" Trish cackled, and I rolled my eyes. I thought it was sweet what he did. I'm glad he didn't try to actually kiss me. I don't think I could've handled those warm, soft lips against my own…
My phone vibrated in my back pocket, and I pulled it out and glanced at the screen. Austin's picture popped up, and I laughed at how goofy he looked. He was holding Dougie the Dolphin and grinning big for the camera. Dez's foot was in the top of the picture because he had fallen off a table when I took the picture.
Austin: hey ally, meet me at my house for dinner. mom's making mexican. :)
Ally: cool, ill be there soon. can't wait!
Carrie was making Mexican food? My favorite! I grabbed my bag and headed out the door towards the Moon residence.
When I arrived, Austin opened the door, grabbed my hand, and pulled me into the kitchen, where the delicious aroma of Mexican came from. I passed the walls with the family pictures on them, and I always marveled at how much Austin looks like his father.
"Ally's here. We're going out back." Austin told his mom and kept pulling me to the back porch.
"Hi, Carrie!" I said before I was dragged out by a certain blond boy. She waved to me with a twinkle in her eye, and winked. I could tell she thought we were together, and I hoped she didn't quiz me on it later.
Once on the cool back porch, we sat on the bench side by side, my hand still in his. I desperately hoped mine weren't sweaty and gross.
He jumped into a cheerful conversation, telling me about going surfing with Dez, and I told him about the wacky customers we got at the store that day. One man actually asked me for a banana. People these days.
There was a pause in our comfortable conversation. He rubbed his thumb across the back of my hand, and I blushed, looking away. Why did I always get so nervous around him?
"Ally." He said quietly, making me turn back. His warm brown eyes looked into mine with concern. I knew he was thinking about what I had told him about my mom on our camping trip. I'm sure he felt weird about it.
"Yes?" I responded, moving closer to him. His body heat was a magnet, and I was a paper clip. He's just so irresistible.
"I just want you to remember what I said when we went camping. You can tell me anything. I mean it." He said earnestly, and I felt my cheeks burn even more.
"Thanks. I guess there is one thing I'd like to say. Actually, it's more of a question." I said slowly, cautiously.
"Yeah?" Austin urged me on, and I took a deep breath. How would he react?
"Trish and I were talking, and she kind of brought up you… and me. And she wanted to know… if we were….erm, dating." I finished, waiting for him to reply. I saw him think for a moment, and I studied his focused expression, searching for any indications.
"Huh. Well, I don't really know. What do you think?" He asked.
"That's just it. I don't know either. I mean, what do you even feel for me?"
"Ally, I love you. You know that. You're amazing, and you're my best friend ever. Of course, I feel something more for you. I'm sure you know that too. Why else would I kiss you?" Austin ran a hand through his tousled blond locks. I frowned. Why did he look so distressed?
"Yeah. I think you're great, and you're my best friend too. And, I feel more for you too. I always get so nervous and anxious around you. I love you." I muttered, looking down. I was so embarrassed. Why did I bring this up? Stupid, Ally. He'll never want you.
He pulled me onto his lap, and I rested my head on his shoulder. It seemed to fit so perfectly. His steady breathing calmed me, and I felt his heart beat. It just felt so good.
"I want to be with you. I want to be everything for you, everything you need. Stop being so doubtful. I love you, ok? I love you. " Austin spoke softly into my ear, and I reached up to move a beautiful piece of blond hair away from his eyes. Why did he do this to me? I was still so confused.
"I want to be with you too. You make me feel so good, and I don't ever want to lose that." I said honestly. I was still afraid that he'll leave. Everyone will leave. And I'll be left alone. I was scared.
Tears escaped my eyes, I wiped them away quickly. He's already seen me so weak, and I didn't want to be even more vulnerable. Unfortunately, the tears kept falling. Austin looked down and saw me crying. Silently, he offered me his shirt to dry my eyes on. I gladly accepted. He rubbed my back, and hummed softly.
"What's wrong, Ally?" He asked me, and I heard a sadness in his voice that I had never heard before.
"I'm just so confused. And scared. I don't want to lose you." My body melted into his, and I closed my eyes, blocking out the world. It was just me and Austin.
"You won't. You're never gonna lose me. And I hope I won't ever lose you." He continued humming softly, and I recognized one of the songs we had written together. A small smile touched my face.
"Should we date?" Austin's voice suddenly seemed so small, and I opened my eyes to see him staring off at the distance.
"Good question." I chuckled.
"Hey, I got an idea!" Austin straightened up, sad eyes turned cheery. "We don't have to be anything." He said eagerly.
"What?" Austin's thoughts were way ahead of mine.
"What I mean is, we don't have to be 'boyfriend and girlfriend'. We can do what we want, be whatever we want, and we don't have to worry about the rules. Just Austin and Ally." He smiled down at me, and I smiled back. His happiness is contagious.
"I like it. No rules. Just me and you." I repeated, thinking it over. It made sense. If it didn't work out, we didn't have to "break up". We'd just go back to being normal.
"I can kiss you anytime I want." He whispered, looking down at me. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach, and I blushed furiously. I hoped he would…
To complete or movie-moment, he ducked his head to kiss me. This time, it was real. Our lips moved together, and I felt like I was falling, spinning. His strong arms wrapped around me, and I played with his soft hair. Gosh, I love his hair… My thoughts were jumbled up, and I couldn't think straight. I felt so safe, and protected. Nothing could touch me in Austin's arms. We paused, and I felt Austin's warm breath on my face.
"Dinner time!" Carrie came outside, and we leapt apart, me tumbling to the floor in surprise.
The first part of dinner was mostly quiet. Austin's foot rubbed my leg under the table, and I blushed. Carrie looked at me strangely.
"So, what was that all about outside?" She finally broke the ice. I looked at Austin, and Austin looked at me. He shrugged.
"Hey, Mom did you hear about the new museum they're building…" Austin attempted to change the subject, but it didn't fool Carrie.
"Oh, shush, Austin. Ally will tell me, won't you sweetheart?" She smiled at me, and I shrank down in my seat.
"I guess Austin and I are sort of… dating. Except we decided not to be together-together. Does that make any sense?" I explained. She snorted.
"Please. You two are boyfriend and girlfriend. Don't think I don't see the way you two look at each other. And Austin, you better treat her right. I like Ally, so don't go scaring her off." She laughed.
"Mom, it's not like that. We're just letting what happens, happen." Austin rolled his eyes.
"And there was definitely something happening over there." Carrie pointed out, referring to us kissing. I looked at the floor, embarrassed. "Well, I guess I might have to think twice before letting you two have sleepovers in the same room again…"
"Stop it, Mom. You know us." Austin scoffed.
"Sure, honey." Carrie smiled, shaking her head.
Despite her words, Austin's mom allowed us to have a sleepover up in his room. I texted my dad to let him know I was staying over, and he was fine with it. My father was a very trusting man; he knew I would be where I said I was. But perhaps he shouldn't have assumed that much this time.
"Austin, are you sure?" I whispered in the dark, reaching out to touch his arm. I couldn't see anything at all.
"Yeah, it's totally fine!" He assured me, and I saw his white blond shimmer with the moon's reflection.
We snuck out. Yes, Ally Dawson officially snuck out at night. I felt so dangerous and wild and nervouse. It was exhilarating! Austin had suggested we go out to the creek behind his backyard, and I agreed. Carrie was asleep, and there was no way we would get caught. Right?
I tripped over the long sweatpants I had borrowed from Austin. Since I didn't go home to get pajamas, I was wearing Austin's old sweats. And boy, were they comfy. And they smelled just like him…
"You ok?" He asked me. I got up, brushing my hands off.
"Yep. I'm good." I answered, hurrying to keep up with his long strides. Tall, dark trees surrounded us, and the brush underneath our feet made crunching noises as we walked. It felt pretty spooky to be out here at night. He reached out to take my hand, and I felt instantly comforted.
"There it is." He whispered, and I laughed at his eerie tone. The creek trickled over rocks and in between crevices. It wasn't very big.
"So this is it? Austin, I've seen puddles bigger than this." I told him jokingly.
"Sure, but do those puddles you speak of have magical qualities such as this great river?"
"No, this river is definitely special. Please demonstrate these great magical qualities you speak of, Sir Austin." I played along.
"Ok, but I must warn you, Madam Ally, that once you are touched by the water, you will automatically be affected. Be careful." Austin jumped over the creek to the other side, and landed in squishy mud. "Shoot!" He broke character, and my laughter rang out through the empty night.
"What happens when I touch the great water, Sir Austin?"
"You are granted amazing flying powers."
"Well, in that case, perhaps we should touch the water so we can fly away together, oh great Sir." I bend down, holding my hands above the creek.
"Perhaps we should. On the count of three. 1, 2, 3!" We both splashed the water at each other, laughing.
Austin snatched me by the waist and lifted me up.
"Look, I'm flying!" I giggled. We were so cheesy.
Austin gently let me down, but didn't let me go. "I'd fly away with you any day." He whispered from behind me.
We lay down on a soft spot of grass beside the creek, and stared up at the patches of sky that were visible through the tall trees. Our legs tangled up, hands intertwined, and heads resting on the other, I was in heaven. It really was our magic kingdom.
A/N: So, how was it? It was pretty cheesy at the end, I apologize. I had fun with this chapter. Please review! Thanks yall!
