It was nearing almost midnight by the time Austin Moon had bid his goodbyes to Ally and his two newest friends.
The few hours that the now quartet of friends had spent together had resulted in the telling of interesting stories and a little bit of bonding moments here and there.
In turn, Austin learned that Ally Dawson did not, in fact, just as he had expected, like the Christmas season. For what reason, he was not entirely certain, but he knew that he was determined to find out why and change her mind.
And Ally had learned that Austin Moon completely adored Christmas in the way a small child would enjoy the night of Halloween. And the short brunette wasn't entirely sure how a grown bad in his mid-twenties could love a holiday that was so over-commercialized and obnoxious. Despite not knowing Austin for very long, Ally could have just envisioned him ranting for 20 minutes about how much it disgusted him, but he had done just the opposite and jumped and hollered over how much he adored the holiday.
And at exactly 12:02 AM, Austin made his way out the doors of Sonic Boom (not before making sure he had Ally's phone number) with a glowing smile on his face.
As soon as the doors swung shut, Ally's redheaded and curly-haired best friends turned to face her with knowing, mischievous smiles on the faces.
"What?" her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"You totally like Austin!" Trish exclaimed excitedly.
"I totally just met Austin."
"So? Trish and I had just met when we became friends. Now look at us!" Dez yelled, throwing his hands in the air to emphasize his point.
"It's not the same," Ally rolled her chocolate brown eyes, growing annoyed. She wasn't sure what was worse; her friends annoying her about needing a boyfriend or annoying her about her new friend, who happened to be male.
"He's literally perfect for you, Ally," Trish stated, looking like a proud mother.
Dez nodded in agreement, wrapping an arm around his girlfriend's petite frame. "Ally and Austin. Ally Dawson and Austin Moon. Austin and Ally. Austin Moon and Ally Daw-"
"I get it!" Ally shrieked.
Austin and Ally. Perhaps she could get used to that.
Austin had finally pulled into the parking lot of his apartment building at 12:23 AM.
Shutting off the engine of his vehicle, he soaked in his own thoughts for just a few minutes.
Ally Dawson was certainly something else.
She was no Katie Delaney, his girlfriend of senior year. The "popular" girl at his school. Blonde haired and blue eyed. Cheerleader, or something like that. Austin's memory wasn't very good after four years.
Ally Dawson was Ally Dawson. A girl popular among her own small group of friends. Brunette and brown eyes. Majoring in Marine Biology. And that was something Austin could remember.
Austin let his thoughts travel to a few months or so down the road and he found himself thinking of what it would be like to pull up in his car in Ally's driveway; his palms would be sweating with nervousness and he would be wearing a white dress shirt and slacks and a black tie. He would finally get the courage to walk up to her front door and knock quietly, hoping she heard it. He would have a bouquet of a dozen red daisies (because she had told him the day they met that her favorite color was red). Ally would open the door wearing a dress that complemented in all the right ways. And he would give her a shaky, nervous, stuttering mess of a compliment. She would blush and take the flowers and-
Austin shook his head, pushing the thoughts out of his head. He had possibly spent the 20 minute drive from the mall to his apartment building putting too much thought into what a first date with Ally would be like.
And maybe he had been so pathetically... pathetic and somehow related every song on the radio to Ally until he eventually got so annoyed with himself that he slammed the power button on the radio off.
"Get a hold of yourself, Moon. She's just a girl."
And before he could stop himself, he was pulling his phone out of the cup holder beside him, opened his contacts, and clicking on the newest contact, which was now the first name on the list; Ally Dawson.
Clicking the "send a text message" option beneath her name, he quickly began typing before he had the chance to chicken out.
Soo.. It's me. Austin. I know it's late and you're most likely sleeping or driving home or maybe you're not doing either. You can just reply to this when you wake up or maybe at a red light or when you come to Starbucks tomorrow. (which I hope is still your plan and you haven't gotten sick of seeing me just yet) Or you're not obligated to answer at all, because I'm a weirdo. (Kidding. I'm not a complete weirdo.) So... I'd like to take you out to dinner at some point. I want to get to know you a little better.
And before he could curse himself for probably being too forward, his thumb pushed down hard on the bright green "send" button.
At Sonic Boom, Ally was still fumbling to find the keys to the store and half listening to Trish and Dez bicker over which Iron Man installment was the best one.
Normally, Ally would contribute to such a detailed conversation (sarcasm intended as she had to bite her lip every time one friend mentioned that a certain film was better because "the suits are way cooler") about her favorite film and her favorite superhero and her favorite comic book character, but she was just so sleepy and she just wanted the damn keys so she could just go home.
And as if God had been listening, when she yanked open the drawer beneath the counter for what felt like the millionth time, her keys were sitting right there on top of the papers.
Any other time, the brunette would question the logic of the keys appearing, but she blamed it on her sleep deprivation and her frustrations and grabbed the keys and unplugged the surge protector that had all of the Christmas lights plugged in and it was almost as if her headache had eased with the disappearance of the obnoxiously bright lights.
Just as she began to lock everything else - the last thing to do before she could go home - she felt her phone buzz in her pocket.
Groaning eternally - because really, who the hell tries to contact someone at almost one in the morning - Ally put her small hand in her peacoat and fished out her blue phone, reading an unfamiliar number light up her screen.
Flicking her finger across the screen and opening the text, a blush crept on her cheeks and a smile formed.
Soo.. It's me. Austin.
And she couldn't help but smile at his name and his lame introduction.
I would like to take you out to dinner at some point.
I want to get to know you a little better.
Ally was certain that with the heat on her face, her cheeks could have caught on fire. "Oh my gosh," she whispered to herself.
"What?" Trish's sudden tentative behavior towards what was going on around her caused the brunette to jump about ten feet in the air. Noticing the faint pink shade on Ally's cheeks and her effort to hide her smile, Trish narrowed her brown eyes. "Who are you texting?"
"Whaaaaat," Ally excused herself awkwardly. "I'm just looking at this old picture of the three of us!"
Trish took a step towards Ally, still suspicious. "Oh, okay," she shrugged, playing along with Ally's charade. And the second Ally relaxed, believing that Trish bought it, Trish's tan hand snatched the mobile device right out of her pale fingers.
"Trish!" Ally shrieked, desperately reaching for the phone.
Trish read quickly, finished reading, then squealed. "Austin asked you out!"
"Aren't you supposed to be 22? Not 15," Ally rolled her eyes, snatching her phone back.
"Austin asked you out?" Dez asked with wide eyes.
"I'd like to take you out to dinner. I want to get to know you," Trish said in a mock male voice, causing Ally to giggle.
"We told you you guys were into each other!" Dez yelled, clapping lightly.
"It's just a friend thing," Ally protested.
Trish scoffed. "You keep thinking that and we're going to head home. See ya soon, lover girl," Trish joked, pulling Ally into a goodbye hug.
"Bye, Ally. Good luck with Austin!" Dez shouted on his way to the door.
And as the couple walked out of the door, Ally's thumbs went to work.
I'd like to go out to dinner with you. I want to get to know you, Austin Moon.
And that night of the first of December, Austin and Ally had never slept better.
Austin fell asleep with a smile on his face, knowing he had a date with Ally Dawson in the near future.
And Ally fell asleep with a grin permanently etched on her face, knowing she had a date with Austin Moon fairly soon. And she was proud of herself for finally accepting a date.
And she had a feeling that she wouldn't be regretting this date.
Author's Note: Thank you all so much for your great, encouraging comments! It's so great to wake up to your wonderful comments. You all seriously make my day :)