Sorry for the huge break! This chapter should be interesting for you though! :)
Chapter 7: Fancy seeing You
It had been at least two and a half months since Austin and Ally's partnership had torn apart, and the only way Ally could know about Austin's career was the internet and the occasional old music video on the music channel. It seemed that Austin had released a couple of songs by himself, but none of them had garnered as much attraction as before.
Trish came in the practice room, seeing Ally packing things into a shoulder bag.
"Hey, you ready for your big meeting with Mr Peterson of Peterson Records?" Trish asked cheerfully. Ally looked up at Trish, slightly nervous but still smiling.
"I guess so. Thank you so much for setting this up for me, Trish. I know it must be hard managing both me and Austin now." Ally said genuinely. Trish smiled. Since Ally and Austin had broken their partnership, Trish had booked many meetings with record labels seeking to sign Ally after she had overcome her stage fright.
"Hey, best friends always come first." She assured Ally. Ally broke into a large smile and placed her bag strap on her shoulder.
"So, are you ready to go?" she asked, heading for the door. Trish breathed in and turned to Ally who almost placed her hand on the doorknob.
"Yeah, um, that's what I came over to talk to you about. I can't come with you today, my mum is making me babysit my little brother and I can't get out of it." She explained. Ally looked doubtfully at her.
"How can I go to an interview by myself? I can't do this on my own!" Ally complained, crossing her arms.
"You'll be fine Ally," Trish assured her, placing her hand on Ally's arm. "Just try to be confident. He'll love you." Trish said, pushing her out the door. Ally sighed reluctantly.
"I guess … I'll see you later then." Ally farewelled, heading out the door.
The office Ally entered into was too large for words. She entered the reception and was told to sit down in the lobby while she would wait to be escorted to the meeting.
She smiled as she saw the large lobby through the hallway, and went to sit down. But before she did, she noticed a head of beach blonde locks sitting on a couch, flipping through a musicians' magazine and wanted with all her heart for it not to be true. When he turned to the side Ally's hope was ill-fated. It was indeed, Austin Moon.
When he caught a glimpse of Ally's figure, he jumped up and pointed at her with his hand.
"What the heck are you doing here?" he yelled across the room. Ally turned away from him.
"I could say the same for you, but I have a business meeting to attend. Something mature grown-ups do. But, you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?" Ally pursed her lips together. Austin raised his eyebrow and chuckled.
"Actually I do cause so am I." he retaliated, straightening out his sleeves. Ally grimaced and turned away from him, only to see a well-dressed lady come out of the hallway and look at both of them.
"Austin Moon and Ally Dawson? Mr Peterson will see you now." She said, gesturing for them to follow her. Austin and Ally both went to protest.
"Excuse me, I think there's been a mistake. Our appointments were made separately." Ally dissented. The girl shook her head.
"No there hasn't been a mistake. Come with me, please." She said, heading back in the left direction. Austin pouted but when Ally looked at him he sarcastically gestured for her to go first with a fake grin. Ally stormed past him and followed in the girl's footsteps, with Austin trailing behind.
They came into a large room and saw a man sitting at a desk on the phone. The girl gestured for them to sit on the seats in front of the desk. They both sat down and uncomfortably waited for him to finish his conversation. When he finally got off, Ally opened her mouth immediately.
"Mr Peterson, I think you've made a mistake. He and I aren't partners anymore, I write by myself now." She said. Austin gawked at her.
"And I fly solo now too. I write my own songs." Austin added. Mr Peterson shook his head.
"No, I haven't made a mistake. I've been wanting to talk to you both for a while now. You two have created a sensation amongst today's pre-teens and even late teens. While I know Austin is already signed with Starr Records, I'd like to offer you a single opportunity for a decent sum of money, provided you both work together to come up with a hit." He offered. They both sat there, staring at him.
"I'm sorry sir but, that's out of the question. If you'd like I can write a song for your label, and I'd love to perform it for you too." Ally said confidently. Austin looked at her.
"I can perform any song you want, just so long as the song is written for me, but not by her …" Austin challenged. Mr Peterson shook his head. Austin looked over at Ally quickly who was looking in another direction.
"I can manage it without her, sir." Austin insisted. Mr Peterson chuckled and took hold of a folder on his desk, perhaps looking through some records.
"Is that so? Well, I happen to have some records of your career since you both have torn apart. It seems that your songs are nowhere near the Top 20 and you are less than famous these days." he challenged, looking at an embarrassed Austin. Ally pressed her lips together to avoid smiling.
"I can manage it by myself, sir." Ally said. Mr Peterson abruptly turned to the sound of her voice.
"Ally Dawson. From what my reports tell me, you have performed at numerous local gigs in Miami these past few months, hoping to get signed, but feedback tells me that your songs were not 'good, catchy, or finished'." He said, looking up at her. Austin breathed in through his teeth.
"Ouch." He commented, fighting back a laugh.
"Shut up." She said simultaneously. Mr Peterson looked at the two of them back and forth and threw his hands in mid-air.
"Look, if you can both come up with a hit song for me, I will offer you a record deal too." He offered finally, looking directly at Ally. Austin widened his eyes. While he knew Ally didn't want anything to do with him, Austin still cared about helping Ally with her new career.
They both remained silent for a moment, and while Ally looked at the ground, Austin looked at her. As she looked at him quickly, Austin almost saw a longing look in her eyes, ready to agree. Austin shifted in his chair to say yes, but was interrupted by Ally's voice.
"No." she said flatly. Austin bugged his eyes out at Ally's firm decision. Ally didn't look once at him. "I'm sorry we couldn't work something out, sir. It was nice meeting you." Ally said, getting up from her seat.
Austin looked from Ally to Mr Peterson regretfully, as he heard Ally's wedged heels heading for the door.
So what do you think? I'm not getting many reviews and I'd really appreciate more if you want me to continue this story! :)
